Operation: Salvage Earth
by longWriter
Summary: Second of two prequels to Protocol Omega. A crossover with Monster Rancher and Pokemon. Outer space aliens are attacking the world of digimon with some monsters all their own.
1. Default Chapter

Chapter 1:  New Arrivals

            Davis, Yolei, Ken, Tina, and Kari ran up to the creatures, and the pokémon trainers, tamers, and Monster crew followed them less quickly.  T.K. and Cody ran towards the five Digidestined.  Much to Davis's chagrin, T.K. got a hug from Kari, and Kari had a smile on her face throughout the entire duration of the hug.  T.K. didn't try for a kiss, though, which was a point in Davis's favor.

There was a long discussion about what was going on.  Nobody knew what was happening, and nobody knew what these creatures were.  Fortunately, there was a team that Cody and T.K. had set up that was working to catalogue the menace machines.  The team had a sketch artist who Misty and Ash immediately recognized was Tracy, and also on the team was one of the men who were of Gennai's kind---the only one left, as far as they knew.  His name was Tarquin Cleaver.

            "This is great, but---who's this digimon, here?" Davis asked, pointing to the shark-like digimon.

            "That's Tibemon."                               

            "Then…who's her Digidestined?"

            The circle of Digidestined sat wide-eyed as a figure came out of the shadows.  Davis immediately recognized it as his older sister, June.  (So much for older; she was the same age as he was, thanks to time's accident.)  Like the other D3 Digidestined, she had an outfit for herself:  she had black, vinyl pants, brown work boots on her feet, a gray, fuzzy sweater tied around her waist, a tiger-striped blouse, and what looked like roller-blader's wrist protectors on her arms.  Attached to one wrist protector dangled a purple folding umbrella, which would come in handy, assuming that Gennai had been right about world cloud cover.

            "Oh, not _June_!!" Davis cried.  "There is no way that _June_ is a _Digidestined_!"

            June put her hands on her hips.  "Cleaver said that I have the digivice gene, Davis!" she spat.  "And the Digidestined need all the help they can get.  That's why it's such a good thing that you and Ken showed up with Imperialdramon.  Normally, I'd hate to hear that you made an entrance."

            Davis rolled his eyes.  "You didn't miss me, did you?"

            "Of course not!"

            "_Sure_, you didn't!" T.K. sarcastically shot back.  He nudged Ken and whispered, "She didn't stop begging us to 'borrow' a plane from an airport and fly to America to see if you were okay!"

            "_Zip_ it, T.J.!"

            "It's **T.K.**," he shot back.  _Man, getting my name wrong must be genetic,_ he thought to himself.

            "There are other problems, too," Cody added.  "I don't think it's safe for us to stay here; we need to get to the power plant right away."

            "Power plant?" Yolei asked.

            "We don't know why, but these things won't touch nuclear power plants," Cody answered.  "They won't go near one or even shoot in the general direction of one at all."

            "That's weird," Yolei thought aloud.

            "Well, I for one would like to find someplace where we can avoid getting attacked all the time," Davis thought.  "Let's move it, already!"

            At the power plant, Tracy and the other pokémon trainers had a joyful reunion.  Tracy couldn't help but cry as he and Ash hugged.  (Chances are that they wouldn't hug if they weren't on another planet where there had been a good chance that they'd never see each other alive.)  "I took you for dead!" Tracy cried

            "That's a mistake that you shouldn't make!" Ash shot back.

            "Not while I'm looking after him!" Misty winked.  Tracy would've hugged her, but Togepi was in the way.  Tracy and Brock only shook hands; they didn't know each other as well.

            "So, how've you been keeping busy?" Ash asked.

            Tracy sighed.  "Research.  It's what I'm good at.  They've been making me sketch any of these menace machines that I see to that they'll have pictures to catalogue them.  We're trying to mount a defense against them."

            "Who's 'they'?" Misty asked.  "Who's putting you to work?"

            "Cleaver and the Digidestined.  I don't have all that many pokémon, so…"

            "But Scyther, Marill, and Venonat are great fighters!"

            "Not against fifty metal dinosaurs _at the same time_!" Tracy answered, shaking his head.  "And it's not merril and scyther, anymore:  Marill evolved into Azumarill, and Scyther evolved to he evolved to Scizor, and, even weirder, he doesn't look as old as he was before."

            "That _is_ weird.  Something sure messed up time!"

            "Tell me something I don't know!"

            "All right, then, we just will!" Davis crowed.  He pulled Gennai's datacube out of his pocket.  "We found this next to Tina's digivice."

            "Who's Tina?"

            "She's Ken's daughter."

            "Time was messed up so that a father is the same age as his daughter?" Tracy asked.  After thinking about it for a second, Tracy added, "I guess I should've expected something like this would end up happening to _somebody_."  He took the datacube.  "I'll take this to Cleaver, and see what he says."

            Tracy's welcome wasn't the only surprise the arrivals received:  Takato was in the power plant, too, and he was just coming in from lookout duty.  "Henry?!"

            "Takato!  I can't believe it!"

            "Where have you _been_ all this time?!"  The two rushed into each other's arms.  And when he was done embracing Henry, Takato gave Rika a hug in the same way, which she resented.

            "Takato, would you quit touching me?!"

            Takato pulled away embarrassed.  He noticed Rika's pale skin and the tattered poncho she had draped over her arm.  "Rika, you look like you've seen better days!"

            "What's it to you if I have?"

            Henry shook his head.  "We go to another planet; we go through all of this; and things still don't change."

            "Shut up!" Rika spat.

            Davis plopped down on the couch in one of the employee lounges of the plant.  "Hey, you guys have it made!  A _big-screen_ TV!"

            "Uh-oh!" Tina muttered.  "We aren't going to be able to pry him off from that thing!"                                  

            Mimicking a kindergarten teacher's voice, Youngdramon shot back, "Don't say things like that!  We've got to try; _not_ trying is the only kind of failure!  …There has to be a crowbar somewhere in here!" she thought aloud.  She waddled off towards a utility closet to pretend to look for one.

            "So…here we are," Tai thought, looking over the lounge and the halls of the nuke plant.  "Now what?" he asked.

            "Good question," Kari agreed.  "It looks like they've started this party without us.  I guess we just go along with what they're already doing."

            "What exactly _are_ they doing here?" Sora asked.

            Cody motioned for Tai to follow him, and Cody led him, Sora, and Kari to a room in the middle of the nuke plant.  It looked like the inside of one of the reactors.  "Uh, Cody?  That door back there said "Danger:  Radiation Hazard."

            "We took the fuel rods out of this reactor so that we could put people inside," he answered.  "We've tested it, and it's safe."

            Tai shrugged.  "You mentioned putting people inside---what sort of people?"

            Cody opened the door and motioned inside.  "_Any_ kind of people."  There were families, individuals, and digimon of all sizes, backgrounds, and types.  They were living in the reactor, which---thanks to a lot of scaffolding and the odd piece of a McDonald's Play Place---had been turned into a makeshift, multi-story refugee center.  "This is where we keep people we find.  It's the only safe place for them."

            Sora gaped at all the out-of-place, terrified people who had to call the reactor home.  Tai quickly ushered her out of the room, knowing how sensitive Sora was to everything she saw in this seemingly new world she'd been hurled into.

            Cody looked at Kari.  "Kari, you were a schoolteacher, right?"

            Kari was still a little in shock from seeing the refugees, but she nodded, eager to better the situation any way she could.

            "Then you've had training and experience with young children?"

            "Have I?!  Let me tell you about this one kid I had in my class, once.  He was an evil genius!  And he was in _kindergarten_!  At the time, he was using watercolors to paint a picture so good, I could've submitted it to the Louvre.  I told him that I thought it was good, and he threw his brush on the ground, balled up his fists, and said to me," Kari pinched her nose to illustrate how the child sounded.  " 'Patronize me again, and I'll slit open your tertiary node and use your _lymph_ for these watercolors!'  Then he gave me an evil grin and added, 'I've heard it's a much easier solvent to work with.  So **_back off_**.'  …So yes, I _have_ had experience with children."

            "I…see…  We could use someone with training at the orphanage."

            "Orphanage?"

            Cody sighed.  "You don't want to know, but I think you'd better.  There are loads of children who have no place to go, and there are some who don't even have enough memory to tell us what their names are.  Some don't even remember how to speak their own language."

            "Yikes," Kari gulped.  "Sounds like I'm about to have a problem."

            "You could say that," Cody agreed.  "But if you can help us solve that problem…"

            "I know…I know…I'll help any way I can."

            "Thanks," Cody said.

            "It looks like everyone here is doing their part, around here.  I couldn't live with myself if I didn't do the same."

            Cody nodded in understanding.


	2. Chapter 2: That's Odd

Chapter 2:  That's Odd!

            "You _caught _some of them?" Cleaver asked.

            Ash nodded.  "I caught them.  That's why I'm glad I found you in the hall."

            "Where are they now?"

            "Here," Ash answered, pulling a pokéball out of his backpack.

            Tarquin looked at the ball.  "I didn't know they came in that size."

            "They don't.  I don't know how anything can fit in one of these balls, but I know that they can.  Let me show you," Ash said.  He pulled out Totodile's pokéball and let him out.  "Totodile is a lot bigger than the pokéball, but he can fit inside.  I caught a couple menace machines in some of these pokéballs.  I heard that you were on the research team, so I was wondering if you'd like to have the ones I've caught."

            "Thanks, but…I don't know how a pokéball works."

            "It's simple.  They're voice-activated; you just say, 'pokéball, go!' and throw one."

            Looking over the pokéballs, Cleaver answered, "…Okay.  Um…do you have an empty one I could study?  I'd like to know how _exactly_ something fits inside.  My first guess is a subspace pocket."

            "Subspace pocket?"

            Cleaver nodded. "I'll need to give you a little background on how subspace works. You know how pokémon, digimon, and Monsters have special attacks, where they release different types of energy, like heat or electricity or light, that seem to come out of nowhere?  Well, that energy comes from their subspace matrices.  The subspace matrix is some kind of body of matter that is in subspace, and that body in subspace is sort of a part of their normal-space bodies.  Their subspace matrices interact with their normal-space bodies a lot, especially during special attacks or evolutions.  Their subspace bodies are about as complex as cells are in normal-space.  They can store energy and move from one place to another, but all the thinking and eating comes from the normal-space body's brain and mouth.

            "The way evolutions work is this:  DNA can be moved from the subspace body to the normal-space body, and, when a creature evolves, the DNA is removed from the normal body and replaced with DNA from the subspace matrix.  At the same time, the matrix is giving out chemical energy and genetic protein information to the normal-space body so that the normal-space body can change into the next form.  With Digidestined's digimon, some energy and genes are brought back into the matrix from normal-space when the digimon reverse-digivolve, and that partly makes up for the energy they spent digivolving.

            "Anyhow, I have a guess so as to how the pokéball works:  I think that either all or most of the body of one of your pokémon gets converted into subspace matter, and then the subspace matter is all drawn into the pokéball."

            "I see," Ash said, his head spinning from the information overload.  "But can you use the pokéballs and the machines I caught to study the menace machines?"

            "I hope so.  Probably."

******

            When Davis is watching television, it seems to him as though the image on the screen of the TV set is the only thing in the universe that exists.  You could tell this from the look on his face; I have already described what he looks like:  "As though no brain existed behind his vacant expression."  But what happens when someone switches off the TV while he's watching it?  Izzy tried switching it off to get Davis off the couch, and Davis seemed to go into an even deeper trance.  Izzy waved his hand in front of Davis's face, and Davis didn't react at all.  Izzy shook Davis's shoulder, and finally he snapped out of his trance and looked at the person who had switched it off.  It was no one he knew; he had red hair and wore an orange shirt.  "Do you mind?!" Davis spat.

            "Actually, I do:  this is a humanitarian HQ, not a video lounge."

            "This is _too_ a video lounge!" Davis pointed out.

            "Yeah, well, you're on assignment, not on vacation."

            Davis rolled his eyes.  "Who died to make you king, anyways?"

            "I have seniority over you," he pointed out.

            "Who are you anyways?"

            "You don't recognize me?!"

            Davis looked him over.  "No.  Should I?"

            "I'm Izzy!"

            For a moment, Davis stared at him blankly.  Then it occurred to him that this might be Izzy, after all; time had messed up people's ages, so Izzy might end up being younger than he was.  "I'm on…assignment?"

            "Veemon has recovered his strength since he and Wormmon were Imperialdramon?"

            "Yeah…"

            "Then we need you to get to work."

            "…What _kind_ of work, exactly?"

            "Seek Patrol."

            " 'Seek Patrol'?  What's _that_?!"

            "Seek Patrol is this:  you go out and look for people to take back to the orphanage and refugee center."

            "Why?  What's the problem with these people?  What're they doing?"

            "My guess is that they're trying to stay alive in a world full of bloodthirsty machines that are trying to _eat_ them.  The idea is to give them help; those machines will not come within half a kilometer of this nuke plant."

            "Why not?"

            "I don't know, but they _never_ approach the plant."

            "…So I find people and bring them here?"

            "Exactly."  Izzy handed him and Veemon backpacks full of supplies and shoved a flashlight and a folding umbrella into Davis's jacket pockets.

            "What're those for?"

            "The weather is more unpredictable than ever, and I don't mean that you can't guess the weather from one day to the next:  I mean you can't guess the weather from one _minute_ to the next.  Everything is weird; it can rain out of a perfectly clear sky, and the temperature can be weird, too.  If it gets too cold, there are blankets in your knapsacks.  And time is messed up, too; you'll see what I mean once you're out there.  And light can sometimes be just as weird as the weather; you never know where the sun will end up in the sky next.  In fact, sometimes there is more than one sun in the sky, and then you'll need the umbrella for shade to keep from dying of skin cancer.

            "If you meet any menace machines, then have Veemon digivolve and fly back here.  They'll stop giving chase once you get within half a kilometer of here."

            Davis shrugged.  As he and Veemon walked out the nuke plant's doors, he said to Veemon, "I can't believe that Earth's population has been cut from twenty billion to…I don't know how small.  I just can't get my head around that fact."

            It was apparent that Davis was really struggling with the idea, so Veemon answered, "When reality around you changes, you have two choices:  accept it or not accept it.  I think you'd better accept it, Davis.  Otherwise, while you're trying to convince yourself that it's not true, you'll end up in the stomach of one of these things."

            "Good advice.  So…why do you think they keep away from the nuclear power plant?"

            Veemon shrugged.  "Maybe they don't want to blow the thing up."

            "Probably.  …But why not?  It would kill a whole bunch of people, and that's what they want, right?"

            "Maybe it's not the people they're interested in.  Maybe it's the planet."

            Davis shrugged.  "Maybe."  After a few moments, they came across what looked like a minefield of puddles.  The strangest thing was that there were shifting pools of light and darkness and of rain in the puddles.  It was as if the clouds above them were forming a lava lamp-like pattern while still pouring their wet contents onto the ground.

            "Weird," Davis muttered.  He and Veemon spent the next few moments trying to navigate the puddles and keep dry.  They failed:  both of them ended up drenched, and Davis even lost his balance and fell facedown in the water.  As he picked himself up, he heard a low "clack!" on the ground.  Something had fallen, and it was the aforementioned folding umbrella.

             "Looks like you forgot that you had an umbrella again," Veemon spat.

            "You didn't remember, either!" Davis shot back.  "C'mon.  Let's get out of here."

            After a few more minutes of drip-drying, they found themselves walking between two small buildings.  Davis suddenly said, "I feel like we're being watched."

            "Me, too," Veemon agreed.  They two looked around, and they saw that behind them there was an army of female lawn gnomes.  The gnomes weren't moving at all, and seemed to be harmless (though tacky) inanimate objects.

            The two looked at each other blankly.  "This fits in with all the other weird stuff we've been seeing," Veemon said.

            Davis nodded.  "No kidding.  C'mon."

GAZRIITOR:

Nickname: Miss Gnomer (Misunōmā)  
Real Name: Igno-tor-onbi  
Caste: Unuyon Var'ka  
Modes: One  
Special Attacks:  
Li'nota  
Comments:  
This breed of ator is used largely for surveillance. Its sole attack is to make a small puncturing spike extend from its mouth and lurch at people in the hopes that it does damage (which it generally does not). Five of these combine to form an eye-dhole, allowing it, on the odd occasion, to be used for ambush attacks. 

            Neither of them noticed, but, as they turned away and continued walking, the gnomes began following them.  They quickly turned around and saw that the gnomes weren't where they had been before.

            Davis looked at Veemon, and then gestured for them to continue.  The gnomes tried to follow them again, of course, but Davis and Veemon knew what they were doing:  Veemon turned to the right, and Davis rounded the left corner of the buildings before them.  Once they were just out of sight of the Miss Gnomers, they broke into a sprint and lapped the sluggish gnomers in running around the buildings.  Davis had found a broom during his lap, and he had picked it up and was using it to smash the Miss Gnomers to pieces from behind.  Veemon was using his new attack:  Vee boomerang.  It was very similar to Hawkmon's Feather Strike:  he took the yellow crest off his helmet and threw it at the Miss Gnomers.  It went through the Miss Gnomers' chests and demolished a few rows of the army with every attack.  Between Davis and Veemon, the Miss Gnomers were all history.

            "Man, if those were menace machines, then they sure weren't very dangerous!" Davis commented with a chuckle.

            "I think we'd better tell this to Izzy, anyway."

            "Yeah:  it'll be a good joke even if it's not useful."  The two laughed.


	3. Chapter 3: Big Ideas, Little Brains

Chapter 3:  Big Ideas, Little Brains

            Rika felt strange…she'd been used to having a room all to herself to sulk in, but, now, she was the roommate of a girl she'd never seen before.  There was a strong resemblance to Yolei from season 2, but Rika didn't bother to ask the name of this girl.  Also, she knew that it wasn't Yolei from the girl's digimon partner:  Yolei had a Hawkmon as her digimon, while this girl had a digimon she'd never seen before.

            Another thing:  Rika was used to sulking for no reason.  Now, she had a pretty good reason:  there was a good chance that she'd never see her family again.  That plus the fact that there were bloodthirsty monsters roaming the streets made her feel uneasy at best.  But there was something else that was getting to her---maybe it was because she was still tired from her overexertion.  It had only been three days since she had overworked herself without food, so it was possible that she was still shaking off the effects.  She asked Joe, the local medic, about her condition.  He said that, if she still felt rotten, then she should rest up for a while before reporting for duty.

            "Duty?"                                 

            "Yeah.  You're a Digidestined from your universe, right?"

            "I guess so…sort of…"

            "Then you'll probably be on Seek Patrol."

            "What's that?"

            "Basically you go out and look for people to take here.  They have a better chance of surviving if they're here because---for some reason---the menace machines never go anywhere near the nuke plant."

            "So I heard."

            Rika walked back to her room and sat down in her bed.  She sighed.

            "What's got you so glum?" her roommate asked.

            "Oh, just that I'm sick, I'll never see my family again, and there are man-eating robots prowling the streets."

            "Seems like there's an epidemic of that going around."

            "Humph."

            "So…is what you have contagious?"

            "No," Rika answered, pulling her legs into her bunk and crawling into the blanket.  She said it in a tone that made it clear that she was done talking.

            You can tell Tina that you're done talking, but you can't make her accept it.  "So what do you have?"

            "Overexertion," Rika spat in another rude tone.

            "Hmm.  That bites, but at least it's not a germ.  I know what it's like to get injured like that.  (Well, kind of injured, I mean.)  Once, during the Olympic games, I was swimming, and I was going so fast that I hit my head on the wall twice and it was enough concussion to knock me out.  I almost drowned."

            "Hmph."

            Youngdramon laughed.  "So we learn that it's a bad idea to go fast during a race?"

            "Basically.  And it was absent-minded of me to forget to breathe while I was unconscious."

            "Man, that wasn't an up-day for you mentally, was it?"

            "_SHUT UP!!!_" Rika screamed, pulling the covers over her head.

            Youngdramon and Tina weren't sure how to react.  They left the room and shut the door behind them.  "Man, that girl was uptight!" Youngdramon remarked.

            "You're telling me!  I don't think I've ever met such a grouch!"

            "What do you think it is that turns people into grouches?"

            "Maybe she was dropped as a baby?"

            "Could be, but since we don't have her family to ask, I don't think we'll ever know."

            "Why not ask her?"  Tina asked.

            Youngdramon stared blankly at Tina.  Then the two broke out laughing.  "I'd hate to think what she'd do to us if we did _that_!"

            "So…what are we going to do today?"

            "You say that like there's no work to do!" Izzy cut in as he walked up to them.

            "Work, huh?" Tina asked.

            "There are thousands of man-eaters stalking the length and breadth of Japan, and you don't think that there is work to do?  _Man_!  If I ever have kids, I'll raise them to be smart!"

            "You're saying Mom didn't do that with me?"

            Izzy frowned.  "Quit smart-mouthing me, Tina!  Not that I expect you to know the meaning of the word, but this is serious."  He pulled a clipboard out from under his arm and showed it to her.  "These are the jobs that there are to do.  Pick one."

            Tina looked over the schedule.  "What do you think, Youngdramon?"

            "I think that Joe must've written it!  Look at that handwriting!"

            "**If you can read it, it's good enough**," Izzy spat.

            " 'Orphanage Supervisor?'  What's _that_?"

            "Basically, you'd be one of the supervisors in the orphanage."

            "I could see that. What does the job involve?"

            "Supervisors look after kids in the orphanage.  They pass out food at mealtimes, stop fights, put kids to bed, and things like that."

            "Hmm…"  Tina looked over the other choices, and couldn't find a better one than "orphanage supervisor".  She looked at Youngdramon.  "Let's see…the opportunity to be a role model to children?"

            "Pass on notions of ethical behavior and speech?"

            "How to act maturely?"

            "Show them refinement and good taste?"

            "Sounds like fun!  Sign us up for that one, chief!"

            Izzy rolled his eyes and wrote her name under the supervisors list.  _I'm going to regret this,_ Izzy thought to himself.

            Tina didn't enjoy the job as much as she thought she would:  the children weren't very happy with their environment.  A dome of plain, gray lead surrounded them on all sides, like a sky on a rainy day.  There were no toys or games inside…not even one ball for them to play with.  Most of the children were lying motionless on whatever they had to sleep on, be it a blanket somebody found or a jacket they brought with them when they first arrived in the orphanage.  They only ever left the reactor to use the bathroom, and, each time, Tina had to take them by the hand and lead them there and back.  There was no activity, only the occasional echoing sound of crying.  Most of the children were extremely timid, and wouldn't say one word to Tina.  They seemed broken and afraid of everything, and each new noise under the dome received a dozen terrified stares.

            After a few hours, Kari walked into the reactor and said to Tina, "You're relieved."

            "No, I'm not!"

            "You're…_not_?"

            "I don't feel very relieved to see a whole bunch of sad children!"

            "…What I meant was that I'm here to relieve you of duty.  Your shift is over; I'm taking over the job of 'supervisor' now."

            "…Oh, _that_ relieved."

            Youngdramon couldn't help but snicker.  "Feel 'relieved' to know a new word, Tina?" she asked.

            "Ha-ha-ha.  That puts you one point above me; I have to make an under-creative wisecrack about you to even the score out, now.  C'mon," Tina said, walking towards her room.

            "So…now what?"

            "It's off to the electronics store!"

            "Why?"

            "Those kids need _something_ to keep themselves busy.  I'm not going to just sit around while they're suffering in there!"

            "…So what're we going to get them, and how are we going to bring it here?"

            "Oh, I'm sure the store has a forklift out back that we can borrow…"

  
AUTHOR'S NOTES:

            Isn't that ironic?  Me rooming Tina and Rika together?  In this story, Rika is a grouch who either can't or won't make a friend, has boogers made of C4, the personality of a dyspeptic wood chipper, and the outlook on life of a rabid snapping turtle.  On the other hand, Tina is a regular ray of sunshine---albeit one loaded down with UVB.  This should turn out to be interesting---and I was afraid that this segment of MON: 2028 would end up being boring!

            When I told one of my publishers that I was combining more than one anime show into this fic, he warned me that there would be way too many characters.  But there's a simple solution to that:  focus on a few of them and have the rest be outside characters.  The good ones are the crew from season 2, Rika, Tina, and maybe a few of the more obnoxious characters from Monster Rancher and Pokémon.  I'm not sure where the plot will go from here, but I have a rough idea how Salvage Earth will end.

...Something completely different!


	4. Interstitial Poem: The Epicsode

Chapter 3: The Epic-sode

AUTHOR'S NOTES:

You know that this is going to be good, because I need to put the author's notes beforehand instead of at the end of the chapter, like I usually do.

Now, in all of Endgame and Arrival, I never got a chance to show you what I can do with poetry. Stories…you already know what I can do with stories, but it's time I showed what _exactly_ I can do with poems. Basically, this entire chapter is a poem that tells a story. I've heard that long poems that tell stories are called "epics". Hence, the name of the chapter. It's long, so it might get boring after a while. And the quality isn't all it's cracked up to be, I should warn you.

******

Sora needed to adjust to life

In the midst of chaos, strangeness and strife.

Only two weeks had passed in her timeline since the day

She'd fallen into the Digiworld to her great dismay.

But she knew that the situation called for action

And she knew she'd only get satisfaction

For the human desire to do one's work

If she asked what she could do from Izzy, the plant's clerk.

"Seek Patrol" was the answer she got,

"Which is looking for people before they are shot,

Or eaten, or starved, or frozen, or dead."

The notion these could happen worried Sora's head.

So she and Biyomon picked up a few knapsacks

Filled with blankets, ponchos, food, and clothes (like slacks)

And she walked outside into the unknown, strange world

Where everything was new, both to digimon and girl.

How strange it was that the weather turned bad

So quick the rain started and the cold had

Blown in very strangely from out of nowhere,

The notion that others were somewhere out there

Only pressed Sora forward to make her find

Anyone who, like her, felt out of their mind.

After a few minutes of walking through freezing rain,

Biyomon motioned for a stop and then seemed to strain

To hear a small noise that came from the park

But she couldn't see where it came from because it was dark.

They approached the fountain from where the noise came,

It sounded like crying, but out of fear, cold, or shame?

The girl in the fountain didn't have much for clothes,

Only a huge, wet t-shirt that only made her more froze.

Since she was wearing boots anyway, Sora entered the water

Whose depth wasn't much to make her cease her saunter. (Look it up in the dictionary!)

She looked at the child, who seemed very shy:

She cried the second that she met Sora's eye.

Sora knelt and felt that the water was warm,

The only heat to help the child in this strange, cold storm.

She picked up the child and held her tight to her chest,

But, in struggling away, the child did her best.

Sora whispered, "You'll die if you stay around here,

Where there's nothing but coldness, and wetness, and fear.

But I know a place where there are blankets and food,

And playmates, and dry beds where it is far more good."

The child was reluctant, at best, to comply.

(It was easy to tell this, since she still chose to cry)

But Sora toweled her off, and gave her an insulated slicker

And picked her up and ran home all the quicker.

She carried her back to the nuclear plant,

Gave her a hot shower (which seemed the best thing the girl'd had),

Fed her, and gave her new clothes to keep warm,

When it occurred to Sora that others could be in the storm.

She had to find somewhere for the child to stay,

But the kid was too shy, and she'd want to keep away

From the other young children who were in the reactor

Her coyness was certainly a complicating factor…

Sora would need to find someone to care for the kid

Who would be patient and would never flip his lid…

T.K. was the most patent guy anywhere around,

So she hoped he'd care for this child that she had found.

Unfortunately, what Sora hadn't really known

Is the fact that the girl had very quickly grown

Attached to Sora, as since she got her out of the pond,

The two had formed a very close, special bond:

The child thought of Sora as a big sister, or aunt

Or mother, or grandma, so the child thought she can't

Be separated from this one person she could trust;

She thought being with Sora at all times was a must.

When Sora tried to hand the child to T.K.,

She found that there was absolutely no way

That the child would let go of her or turn her face

To T.K. …It was a genuine disgrace.

T.K. shrugged. "She's just too shy for me to handle,

Apparently, to you, I just can't hold a candle.

I don't know why she won't let go of you,"

Sora began to worry and began to stew:

She couldn't babysit this kid forever!

There had to be some way that she could sever

The bond that held Sora and her so near

There had to be some who could help her get clear…

Yolei! Tina could _not _have been easy to raise;

It was a feat that deserved very high praise.

Considering how much experience the poor girl had had,

Yolei could take care of this child without going mad.

But Yolei wasn't in the plant at the time,

She'd left on Seek Patrol, repulsed by my rhyme.

(I'm doing the best that I can, you see,

Just be glad that, for reading this, I'm charging no fee.)

Hmm…Kari had been trained in dealing with kids of this kind,

So maybe it was possible that she wouldn't mind

Caring for the girl Sora had found,

Sora just hoped that Kari was somewhere around.

Unfortunately, Kari was in the orphanage reactor

And the girl's shyness was definitely a hindering factor.

When Sora walked in with the girl in her arms,

The girl acted like only looks could do her great harms.

She covered her head with the blanket Sora had offered

So it was all too clear that the child greatly suffered.

Sora found Kari and asked, "What is there to do?

This child is sticking to me like superglue!

Whenever someone so much as looks at the youngster,

She curls up and cries! All she does is look somber!

What is there to do to make this child feel comfy?

Should I show her tapes of Budgie or Mumfy?" (Those are British kid's shows, by the way.)

Kari shook her head. "Just give her some time."

(She wanted to get away fast, to avoid hearing my rhyme.)

"But time is the one thing that I don't have, right now!

There must be a way to get away from her, but how?"

Kari didn't know, so Sora's final resort

Was to give her to Davis and hope for no retort.

Davis was sitting in front of the television set,

So, of course, his eyes and the girl's never met.

His eyes were not about to leave the screen,

And while some children would find that really mean,

This shy little four-year-old found it benign,

And Davis's vacant expression she found a good sign.

Sora asked, "Could you look after her, please?

If you could watch her a while, my life it would ease!"

"Sure," the one-word answer came back.

"Thanks," Sora answered, "This cuts me some slack."

The child was next to Davis, sitting on the couch,

And looked at Davis, in his disgraceful slouch.

Davis never returned her look for hours,

And Sora found the girl asleep, dreaming of flowers,

And cats, puppies, and other such things,

That lack thereof is what the present desolation brings.

"Thanks," Sora said. "Was she any trouble?"

"Nope," Davis said, still in his tiny bubble

Which was a state of mind where the brain solely ponders

On the television screen, and the mind never wanders.

The moral of the story does not really exist,

So…hey, why are you balling your fist?!

Don't punch the screen! It's done nothing to you!

This poem's _my_ doing…and really, yours, too!

I warned you about the way this would turn out!

You don't have any good reason to shout!


	5. Chapter 4: The Price of Fun

Chapter 4:  The Price of Fun

            Tina was passing the lounge with her jacket tied around her waist, when she spotted June, Ash, and Pikachu sitting on the couch next to Davis.  Pikachu, being a small, furry creature, attracted Tina's attention and made her immediately switch into cute-mode.  She plopped down on the couch next to Ash and asked, "Is that your digimon?"

            "Sort of…I like to think that Pikachu is more my friend than my pokémon---"

            "Isn't he the most adorable thing you've ever seen?"

            "Uh…"

            Pikachu gulped.  He was afraid of what this girl was thinking.  He could tell from her scent that she'd been around a lot of young children and other creatures…ones that he'd never smelled before.  He wondered what her job was…  "Pika, pika pi-chu pi Pikachu!"

            Tina's eyebrow went up.  "Uh, I can't speak much Japanese, just English…"

            "That wasn't Japanese!  Pikachu doesn't talk at all; he can only say his own name.  He's like any other pokémon."

            "Can I hold him?"

            "Uh…"

            "You can hold my digimon if you let me hold Pikachu!" she said, motioning to the alligator-sized Youngdramon.

            "No thanks on that one."

            Pikachu wasn't any keener on the idea of being held than Ash had been on the idea of holding Youngdramon.  But then Pikachu noticed something move inside Tina's overalls pocket.  He made the mistake of crawling closer to investigate.  Immediately, Tina scooped him up in her arms and cuddled him.  He tried to give her an electric shock to get her to stop, but it did no good:  her green gloves were made of rubber.  "Aw, aren't you the sweetest widdle yellow cotton ball there is?!" Tina asked him.

            Pikachu snorted in anger.

             "Gasundheit!"

            Pikachu rolled his eyes in disgust.  He saw Tina's pocket move again, so he stuck his face into one side of the pocket.

            Joey let out an inquisitive squeak and stuck his head out the other side of Tina's pocket.  Out of sheer surprise, Pikachu lost his balance and fell to the floor.  Tina caught him just before he hit, and she caught him in a position that he found _very_ uncomfortable.  Pikachu tried to give her another shock to no avail.  "You don't need to be scared of Joey!  He's okay!"

            "Joey good boy!" Joey chimed in.  "What wake Joey up?"

            "Pikachu!" Pikachu answered.

            "Pi-ka-chu?"

            "That is Pikachu," Ash answered.  Sensing his friend was not where he wanted to be, Ash took Pikachu from Tina and said, "Pikachu doesn't like it when strangers hold him."

            Pikachu cut in, "Pika, pika pi-KA chu pi piiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiII**_I_****_IIIIII_****_!!!_**"

            "---And he doesn't like being surprised by digimon in people's pockets."

            Pikachu let out another angry snort of agreement.

            "Aawwww!"  Tina wasn't scared at all by this display.  In fact, she thought it was just more cuteness.

            "What were you _doing_ anyway?" Davis asked.  "It's not cold in here, you never even _get_ cold, and yet you have your raincoat with you."

            "I'm going off to the electronics store.  My shift just ended in the orphanage, and I figured I should go to the store and get some toys and games for the orphans.  They have nothing to do in the orphanage."

            "Sounds like a good plan on paper, but you're in Tokyo, a city where you've never been before, and you don't know where the toy stores are.  And _then there are swarms of man-eating automatons outside this building.  You'll have a tough time finishing your little store-quest."_

            Tina sighed and rolled her eyes.  "Okay, could somebody show me where to find the electronics store?"

            Davis patted June on the shoulder.  "I volunteer June for that job."

            June frowned.  "Thanks, Davis," she spat with irony.

            "Hey, you volunteered me to watch those baby digimon earlier today and _change their diapers!_  This isn't going to be as bad as what you volunteered _me_ for!  …On second thought, considering that this is _Tina_ that we're talking about---"

            "I owe you one wisecrack now, too, Doofus," Tina shot back.

            "I didn't know we were keeping score."

            June sighed.  "Well…off we go, then…"  She got up off the couch and stretched.  "C'mon, Tibemon.  We have a job to do."

            As the two of them were walking out the door, Tina commented, "You know…you sure have an easier time taking your eyes off the television set than Davis does."

            June shrugged.  "I don't watch that much TV, anyhow."

            After a few minutes of walking, it started to rain.  Youngdramon and Tibemon, being water digimon, didn't mind the rain.  June didn't find the rain so benign; she opened her umbrella and put on her sweater, muttering something angrily under her breath.

            "Not enjoying this?" Tina asked.

            "Hmph," June muttered.  "I hate the rain, I hate the cold…"

            "Cold?!  It's not cold out here."

            "It is so, too!"

            "---Oh, yeah, that's right!  I forgot that I never feel cold.  Something to do with my blood."  Tina untied her raincoat from around her waist and offered it to June.  "After all, your umbrella is big enough for two, and I won't need my coat to keep warm."

            "Uh…thanks."

            They walked along undisturbed for a while---partly because the rain masked their scent, any noise they were making, and kept them from being seen from a distance.  Despite the noise masking, they were very quiet, knowing that any noise might get the attention of a menace machine.  They continued to walk until they reached a mall.  They walked inside, and found that the floor was dotted with broken-to-bits skeletons.  "Okay, not good!" Tina commented.  "Who ever heard of skeletons in a shopping mall?  With this blend of fantasy and reality, I feel like we're in the middle of an anime cartoon!  But wait a sec…these bones are dry!  Like they've been here a long time…what gives?"

            June sighed.  "It's what happens when time gets messed up.  Davis told me that he saw the same thing in Minnesota."

            "He never told me about that."

            "He thought you were too young to handle it."

            Tina sighed.  " 'Too young, too young,' that's all I hear from anyone!  Yet, somehow, I'm not too young to look after little kids, am I?"

            "Sounds ironic to me," Tibemon cut in.  "I mean, the others are all about the same age as you, right?"

            "Exactly!  And Davis, the alleged leader of the Digidestined, acts less mature than I do!"

            "Tell me about it!" June answered.  "I'm his sister; I should know!"

            They sighed and looked back at the skeletons.  "Do you think we should give them a proper burial?"

            "That would take too long," June answered.  "Besides, we came here to get---_what_ all?"

            "Depends on what they have.  I think we should start by going to one of the bigger stores, like a carpet or a mattress store, and get a forklift.  I had in mind a wide screen TV and a Playstation Four system."

            "Yikes," June muttered.

            "You haven't seen what the orphanage is like.  The only thing that makes it better than out here is the fact that it's safe.  Those children have _nothing_, and one of the things they don't have is fun.  With a big TV set or a few Nintendo Tsunamis or Sega Quantums or Z-boxes, we can give them something."

            "Nice speech!" Youngdramon quipped.  "Ever consider a career in politics?"

            June sighed.  "We might as well get all that stuff.  But I think that a bunch of smaller TV sets would be better than one big one.  That way, there can be more than one game system for them."

            "You're probably right."

******

            "I wonder what the general population of refugees looks like," Brock said as he and Misty left for their first seek patrol shift.  Misty could tell which way the gears were turning in Brock's head, and she didn't like it.  "I mean, the civilization this planet is a little more technologically advanced than ours, so they've _got_ to have really good clothes…and cosmetics…"

            Misty shivered.

            "What?  Did you hear something?"

            "No.  Did you?"

            "No, I asked if you heard something because you shuddered like that."

            "Sorry."

            They walked on silently for a few more minutes, and then Misty shivered again.

            "Did you hear something?" Brock asked again.

            "No.  Did you?" Misty asked back again.

            "No, but I asked because you shivered again."

            "…Sorry again."

            After another few uneventful minutes, Misty shivered a third time.  While Brock was still inhaling, Misty said, "I didn't hear anything."

            "Then would you please _stop that?!" Brock spat._

            "I can't help it!  It's freezing cold out here!  I have my sweatshirt on, and even _that isn't enough!"_

            "…Well, I don't think it's that cold out."

            "I _do!!"_

            "Of course you would!  Look at your clothes; I've seen bathing suits with longer legs than those shorts you have on."

            Misty sighed.  "What do I _do?  I feel like I'm going to turn into an ice cube!"_

            Brock thought about the question for a moment.  "A clothes store is the obvious place to go for clothes, and so---"

            "Hold on, Brock…if the city is deserted, who do we pay for the clothes?"

            "Nobody."

            "That's _stealing, Brock!"_

            "Who from?"

            Misty couldn't come up with an answer to that question. She sighed.  "I don't know who from.  But if I were any warmer, I wouldn't be doing this."

            They walked into a store nearby and found an unpleasant surprise waiting for them:  "E-gull ambush!" Misty shouted as she dodged a blast of lightning.  She and Brock ducked into a changing room to hide, where they found that they weren't the only ones hiding in there from the trio of e-gulls:  there were four humans and a mushroommon staring back at them.  The five refugees were definitely former employees of the store.

            "Who would've guessed it'd be this easy to find refugees?" Misty asked.

            "You call that easy?" Brock asked, pointing at the circling e-gulls.

            "**Ilto-tor-agnei****, noh kreshnaiona djom…Ilto-tor-cavatu!"**

            "What was _that?" Misty asked._

            "The e-gulls combined into an underbird!" Brock answered.  "Graveler, use Rock Throw!"

            The underbird drilled through the thin door of the dressing room, and Graveler immediately pounded at the underbird with a barrage of stones.

            The underbird wasn't damaged badly enough.  It lurched at Graveler with its drill whirring, and Graveler caught the underbird.  The underbirds didn't stop flapping its wings to try to fly at Graveler, and Graveler didn't stop holding it at bay.  The stalemate was nerve-wracking, especially since Brock didn't have much along the line of other pokémon that would be able to fight this underbird in this close of quarters.

            It was at this exact moment that Togepi decided to jump out of Misty's backpack.  "Togepi, _no!"  Misty shouted as Togepi ran up to the stalemate fight.  Togepi began his Metronome attack, waving his arms back and forth.  Then he suddenly jumped up, grabbed the wing of the underbird, and tore it off._

            "Tuck-ee-tuck-ee-prrrrrriii!" he shouted with joy as Graveler took the upper hand in the fight and smashed the underbird to bits.

            Misty scooped up Togepi and scolded, "Don't you ever scare me like that _again!!"_

            "…_ckee_???" Togepi asked, not know what he'd done wrong.

            "What is going on, here?" one of the employees chimed in.

            "More than you really want to know," Brock answered.  "Let's just say that business just took a turn for the worse."

            "Why?"

            "Because there's nobody left to shop at your store!"

            "Why what happened to everyone?"

            Misty, Brock, and Graveler pointed at the wreckage of the underbird.  "Those things happened," Misty answered.

            The employees gulped loudly.

            Misty nodded in agreement.  "No kidding.  There _is_ one place that's safe from them, though."

            "_Where_?!"

            "We don't know why, but these robots won't go within a half-kilometer of the nuclear power plant," Brock answered.

            "But there's something I need to do, first," Misty cut in.

            A few minutes later, she came out from a different, intact dressing room with a pair of silvery, vinyl pants.  "Do you think they're me?" she asked Brock.

            "Yeah, they're you, but…"

            "But what?"

            "They're a little reflective, but it'll just take some getting used to, that's all.  …And sunglasses!  Those pants look like a disco ball!"

            "Thanks, Brock!" Misty muttered.

            "So…how far away is the nuclear plant?" the mushroommon asked.

            "A half-hour's walk, or so.  C'mon."

            There was a problem with that half-hour:  it was enough time for a clutch of saberstrikes to find them.

            Misty gulped.  "A few too many for our pokémon to take, aren't they?"

            "A fast getaway is the obvious choice, but we're surrounded!  There's nowhere to run…!"

******

            "Uh, how exactly do you drive one of these things?" June asked.

            "Try that lever."  June pushed the lever forward, and the forklift's fork moved upwards.

            "Okay, not that one.  Try…that one."

            The forklift began moving in a circle.  "Tina, that's the last time I'm taking your advice!"

            "Try pushing the one just like it on the other side!"

            The forklift began moving in a straight line.  "That's better," June said.

            "I thought you said you'd never take my advice!"

            "I lied."

            They drove the forklift to the electronics department and loaded the forklift's cargo pallet with television sets and game systems and toys of every kind imaginable.  They draped a sheet of babble wrap over the pile to keep it dry, and began driving the forklift back to the nuke plant.

            "One question," Tina asked.  "How come we haven't been attacked, yet?  Is the mall within a half-kilometer of the plant?"

            At this moment, there was the roar of the throttle of a few slagsters racing up to meet them.

            "Looks like action is called for!" Tina thought aloud as she switched hats.  "**Digi armor, energize!**"

            "**Youngdramon, armor digivolve to…Gryllotamon, the tunnel of adventure!**"

            "Shall we?" Tibemon asked.

            "Go for it!"  June held up a digi-egg that looked like a small rodent, curled up around a pair of boxing gloves.  "**Digi armor, energize!**"

            "**Tibemon, armor digivolve to…Kangamon, the ice of persistence!**"  Kangamon looked kind of like Flamedramon, with blue armor covered in designs of jagged ice crystals instead of licks of flame.  "Time to show these things what they're dealing with!  Keep driving, June!  We'll handle them!"

            "Right!"

            Gryllotamon and Kangamon jumped back to face the slagsters..

            "Okay, what's the move?" Gryllotamon asked.

            "Their attacks are strong, but short-range," Kangamon answered.  "We should try to shoot them down while they're still far-off."

            "Gotcha.  Laser Mandible!"

            "Sleet UZI!" A small machine came up out of Kangamon's pocket and sprayed the slagsters with ice.

            A few of the slagsters were getting picked off, but the rest weren't so easy:  they moved so that they were back-to-back, and then they combined:  "**Urbo-tor-jorna****, noh kreshnaiona djom…Urbo-tor-andib!**"

GAZRIITOR:

Nickname: Superslagster (Atsuidoragu)  
Real Name: Urbo-tor-andib  
Caste: Yon Var'ka  
Modes: Massacre, ski, jaws  
Special Attacks:  
Yon Dra Jalnor  
Kiro Tarr  
Comments:  
The superslagster is roughly equivalent to an ultimate level digimon. Similar to the slagster, it fires hot lava out its arms, but is capable of dispensing lava at twice the rate of a slagster. It is capable of digesting biomass in jaws mode and also of traveling over the surface of the water in ski mode. 

            "Did they just digivolve?" Gryllotamon asked.

            "Looks like it.  But their digivolutions take time; if we can hit them while they're still combining, we can take them out!"

            "Right!"  Gryllotamon began shooting at the combining robots, and kept firing until one of them got within lava-throwing range.

            "Yon Dra Jalnor!"  Gryllotamon took off and flew above the spurt of lava.  "Laser Mandible!"  She shot at the superslagster, but the shot didn't take it out immediately.

            "Arctic Roundhouse!" Kangamon shouted as she gave a wind-up punch to the superslagster's chest.  The superslagster turned into a block of ice and shattered.  "I guess they're sensitive to the cold, since their element is fire!"

            "Maybe," Gryllotamon agreed.  "I have another attack that might be useful."  She flew in a low bombing run and shouted, "Acid Bombardier!"  A spray of green fluid hit the superslagsters and immediately they were rusted to the point where they couldn't move their arms.  Gryllotamon and Kangamon concentrated their attacks on the disabled superslagsters one-by-one, and one-by-one they exploded.

            "Personally, I think that went _very_ well," Gryllotamon said as she and Kangamon walked back to the forklift.

            Kangamon shrugged.  "If they hadn't digivolved, it would've been better, but coming out of that fight without taking a hit is good."  She regressed to Tibemon, and her digi-egg landed in June's lap.  Tibemon jumped on the back of the forklift, next to Tina.

            Gryllotamon didn't go back to Youngdramon; she began walking alongside the moving forklift.  She asked, "You know, isn't this a bit slow?"

            "A little."

            "Well, there's a way to fix that."  Gryllotamon flew on top of the lift and picked it up.  "Welcome to Flight 13, please return your seatbelts to the upright position and keep in mind that the "no tray-tables" light is on.  Please keep your oxygen masks securely fastened until we come to a complete stop."

            As they picked up speed, June felt the wind resistance blow more cold wind and rain onto her.  She shrank back in her seat---which was uncomfortable, since her seat belt was pinching her---and she made her position even more uncomfortable when she opened her umbrella and stuck it in front of herself.  She muttered under her breath, "This is freezing!"  She wondered how close they were to the nuke plant, but she had a tough time figuring out the distance:  her umbrella was disappointingly difficult to see through.  "Are we _there_ yet?" June asked, eager to get out of the cold, wet weather.

            "Cool it," Gryllotamon shot back.

            June rolled her eyes.  "I don't _want to cool it!  It's cool enough, as is!"_

            "Thanks for the compliment."

            "Oh, shut up!"


	6. Chapter 5: And What Comes Of It?

Chapter 5:  And What Comes Of It?

            Misty clutched Starmie's pokéball, hoping that she'd be able to survive this fight.  Brock had the same attitude with Steelix's pokéball, but neither of them saw what (or, more to the point, _who_) was coming:  they only saw his effects.  A row of saberstrikes exploded and bits of them went flying.

            "What was that?"

            "You got me," Brock answered.

            He didn't stop there:  a pair of red fireballs and a tornado of black smog finished off the rest.  A figure landed atop the wreckage, and Misty recognized him.

            "You're…uh…"

            "Who _is this guy?" Brock asked._

            "He's one of ours…but I can't quite place the name---"

            "Blackwargreymon," their dark defender cut in.

            "Oh, right!  Black-war-gore…man…"

            "_Blackwargreymon_," he repeated.

            "…Whatever."

            Blackwargreymon shook his head.  "How did you manage to find this kind of trouble?"

            "It's more like the saberstrikes found us," Misty answered.

            "Should I escort you back?" Blackwargreymon asked.

            "Dar Kamna!" a spiderstrike interrupted.  The yellow beam hit Blackwargreymon squarely.  He staggered for a moment, then returned fire and destroyed the spiderstrike.

            "…Considering, yeah," Misty answered.  "That'd be great."

******

            "Tina, how many times do we need to tell you:  don't go off on your own!"

            "Mom, I _wasn't _on my own!  June was with me!"

            "That makes the situation all the more dangerous!"

            "Mom, June and I made it there and back without a problem.  Tibemon and Youngdramon _never_ took a hit from those menace machines."

            "It doesn't matter.  In the future, _do not_ go outside this building without telling either Izzy or your father or me.  Understand?"

            Tina sighed.  "Yes, Mom."

            "_Good_.  …And don't give me that look!  This is a _lot_ more dangerous than Minnesota was!"

            Tina rolled her eyes.  "And you wouldn't even let me leave the house _there_.  So imagine the restrictions when there is _actual_ danger!"

            "Don't take that sarcastic tone with me, young lady!  I don't want you to become one of those half-eaten cadavers that these things leave lying around!"

            "I _won't_, Mom!"

            "That's right, you won't, because, in the future, you are to stay in this building unless Izzy or I tell you otherwise."

            Tina's mouth dropped open.

            "Don't look at me like that, Tina!  This is for your own good!"

            Yolei walked away, leaving Tina gaping.  She had done something to _help_, and she was getting punished!  What's up with that?!

            Tina walked back into her room and flopped down on her bunk.  She sighed.  "Youngdramon, why is it that I get yelled at and punished for every good thing I do?"

            "I don't know.  The system is messed up?"

            "Must be."

            There was a loud sigh coming from the top bunk.  It was Rika; she hadn't moved from that bunk since Tina had left the room four hours ago.

            "Join the sad-club," Tina said.

            Rika was terminally bored (as the Little Teenaged Geek's mother so appropriately and repeatedly puts it).  "What is there to _do_ around here?" she asked.

            "That's a question that I asked myself four hours ago.  And I came to the conclusion that the answer was 'nothing.'  So guess what I did?"

            Rika didn't really care about what Tina had done, but she was bored, so she asked, "What _did_ you do?"

            "June and I went to an electronics store, we loaded up a forklift with all kinds of toys, TV sets, and video games, and drove back here.  That got the children in the orphanage something to do, _and_ we have a forklift to use for building new stuff in the empty reactor chambers.  Sounds like a bonus to you?"

            "Sounds like something they'd enjoy having."  Rika added sarcastically, "Did you get a medal for doing all that?"

            "Actually, I got punished."

            "Wow.  You get punished for doing something good.  Maybe you'll get rewarded for doing something bad."

            "It's worth a try.  Anyway, if you want, it's okay by me if you go play some of the video games that we have set up in the orphanage.  The kids might like it if somebody older was playing with them."

            Rika shook her head.  "I might as well," she murmured, hopping off her bunk and walking off to the orphanage.  After a few minutes, she came back.  "Those weren't exactly my kind of games."

            "What would you prefer?" Youngdramon asked.

            "Something a little more gory.  I'm thinking Captain Blood vs. Adrenaline Man VII…stuff like that."

            Youngdramon and Tina looked at each other as if to ask, "What's with _her_??".  Youngdramon asked, "Are you one of those feminists who does things just to break stereotypes?"

            "No.  I actually _enjoy_ playing violent games, where I can fill up the arena with my opponent's bodily fluids."

            Youngdramon and Tina gulped.  "You aren't a little sensitive about blood and guts when you just saw that kind of thing in _reality_ in the hospital in Montana?" Tina asked.

            "Shut _uu-uuup_!" Rika moaned, climbing back into her bunk.

            "Why is it that every time we ask a personal question, you push us away and tell us to shut up?"

            "_**Shut up!**_"

            "Man, she's like a broken record!" Youngdramon commented.

            "She _is_ a broken record.  She's like Mom, only without the power to punish us!"

            "**I hear that!**" Rika thundered down at them.

            "Then stop listening!" Tina shot back.

            Rika began trying to get to sleep, and Tina did the same.  But in the middle of the night, Tina felt a nudge on her shoulder.  It was Youngdramon.  "Youngdramon, what is it?"

            "I have an idea how we can get Rika to lighten up!  She's sound asleep, so we can…" Youngdramon began whispering into Tina's ear.

            "Great idea!" Tina whispered back.

            In the morning…she was a mummified cocoon of duct tape.

  


AUTHOR'S NOTES:

            This must be why people sleep on the floor in Japan:  it's easier to get out of situations like this when the duct tape hasn't been wrapped all the way around you and _under_ the mattress, too.

            Yes, Youngdramon is still bad with the duct tape.  In fact, it's one of her special attacks:  Polymer Coil.  She runs around her opponent and turns him into a mummified cocoon.  Rika shouldn't spas out about this; she's always cocooning, so she should be used to this kind of thing!  :þ

            I bet that you're thinking that it was the worst idea I've ever had to make June a Digidestined.  But, then again, she came this close to sticking her nose into the Digidestined's operations several times in season 2.  It would've been cool to see just what would have happened if she'd actually found out about Davis and his friends' adventures in the Digiworld, but the writers never pulled that stunt.  So I will:  _Ha!_

            (Murmuring to himself):  Man…she looks like a prepped-up Merle from Escaflowne, doesn't she?

            Anyway…you may have noticed that I called Tibemon "she" instead of "he".  Tibemon was male in Endgame, but not here.  And Tibemon has different champion and ultimate forms from the Tibemon in Endgame.  What are those forms?  Read on and find out!

            And one last thing:  that "þ" symbol?  You make that on an IBM compatible by holding down ALT and pressing the numbers 0, 2, 5, and 4.  When you release ALT after punching in those numbers, the symbol should appear.  The uppercase for that symbol is ALT and 0, 2, 2, 2.  It's cool for smilies, especially in Japan, since sticking the tongue out seems to have to do with laughing.  If there's a way to make that symbol with a Mac or a Sun Workstation, I don't know what it is.  The only Apple computer I have any experience with is the //c.  Not very deep computer knowledge, is it?


	7. Chapter 6: Counterattack

NOTE:  There is Christian content in this chapter.

Chapter 6:  Counterattack

            Renamon awoke to hear muffled screams coming from Rika's bunk bed.  She opened her eyes and saw that Rika had been completely bound up in duct tape!  Renamon jumped up and took the tape off from Rika's mouth.  "Rika, what happened?"

            "Oh, nothing.  Nothing at all.  I just have this duct tape coving my bed because it's good for my back.  **My roommate, that nasty little worm, tied me up in duct tape!**"

            Renamon sighed.  She spun the spiked bracelets on her arms and made the points cut through the duct tape to free Rika.  "Why would she do that?"

            "It's her demented idea of fun."  Rika sighed.  "I need to get out of this place."

            "So…where and when is breakfast?"

            "I really don't feel like eating, right now."

            "Rika, you need to eat.  It's forgetting to eat that got you sick in the first place.  Come on."

            "Oh, all right…" Rika stormed off to the cafeteria.  As she ate, she began to do some thinking---about how she'd wanted to die in that hospital.  She also wondered what death was like.  She'd heard all kinds of things from all kinds of people what death was like, and she'd even heard from some that death was just like life because it _was_ another life.  She didn't know who to believe, or why.

            While she was still sitting at one of the tables, someone short was just passing her and offered her a small wafer of bread.  It wasn't like any other type of bread she'd ever seen before.  She looked at the person who had offered it to her, and she realized with a start that it was Cody from Season 2.  She was a little hesitant about speaking to him.

            Sensing her shock, Cody asked, "Why are you afraid of me?"

            "You're…you're Cody from season 2!"

            "What're you talking about?!"

            "…Didn't Henry explain it to you?  I'm from a parallel universe where you're a character in a TV show!!"

            Cody stared at her blankly.  "Do you…want to partake of The Lord's Supper?" he asked.

            "What are you talking about?  What lord?"

            Cody thought about her question for a moment.  "If you don't know what I'm talking about, then you shouldn't."

            "What're you talking about?"

            Cody put the wafer back in the bowl he'd been carrying.  "I'm giving Mass."

            "Mass?"

            "It's a holy sacrament of the Catholic Church."

            "Oh…I…I'm not a Christain."

            Cody shrugged.  He walked to the front of the room, symbolically broke the bread, and said Mass.  It was a tradition that thoroughly puzzled Rika; she'd never seen _anything_ like this before:  the closest thing she could find in her memory was a tribute to the gods that she'd seen while on vacation in Mexico.  She'd seen a display at one of the Aztec ruins where a few actors performed ritual dances and sacrifices before the Aztec gods---save for the gory parts.  But in Mexico, those actors didn't _actually _believe that anyone heard them or was watching except their human audience.  She wondered…did these people _really_ think that the God they prayed to existed, or was this all some kind of an allegorical ritual?

            As Cody was leaving, she followed him out of the cafeteria.  "Hey---Cody!"

            Cody stopped.  "What is it?"

            "One question---do you…actually think that your God exists?"

            "Of course.  Why do you ask?"

            "…I've…never seen anyone who actually think that their god exists.  Everyone I asked said, 'No, those spirits aren't real.  But it's not really a question of the spirits; it's the principles behind the religion that count.' "

            "Strange…excuse me, I have other things I have to do." Cody turned around and kept walking.

            "Wait!  …_Why_ do you think that your God exists?"

            "…Well, look at me."

            "…I'm looking…what am I supposed to see?"

            "What _do_ you see?"

            "I see you…I see the cross around your neck…the bowl you're holding…the bread inside…your clothes…I don't get it!  What do you expect me to see?"

            "Basically what you've just said.  Now, tell me, have you had any science classes?  What's the universe made of?"

            "…I know about how the universe is made up of molecules and atoms and all that…"

            "Did science tell you anything about how complex the human body is?  How many cells are you made up of?"

            "A few billion."

            "And those cells are all organized into _you_.  It takes a lot of orderliness to manage that, doesn't it?"

            "Yeah…but how does that answer my question?"

            "Do you think that evolution just happened?  I've read it in a science magazine:  every scientist has to stop and say to himself, 'Judging from the way everything is organized so well, there must be a God.' "

            Rika didn't understand.  She waved him off and left.

            Cody sighed sadly and shook his head.

******

            Davis and Hare were on Seek Patrol together, and they weren't finding anybody---anybody _alive_, that is.  Occasionally, they found someone who had died, but, what from, they couldn't tell.  They might've died of starvation, or disease, or an attack---there was no way to know.

            Hare was bewildered:  "What on earth could kill everybody like this?"

            "That's a good question.  But, I've said it before:  time is 100% messed up.  Maybe time sped up for them, and they starved to death in seconds when it should've taken weeks."

            "Maybe…" Hare let out a sigh.

            "I know.  I can hardly believe that something like this happened, either.  But c'mon…let's keep going."

            It was a few minutes before they found a lost-looking family in the back of an alley.  At first, the family wasn't too happy to see company.  Davis held up his digivice like it was a police badge.  "It's okay, I'm a Digidestined!"

            The father and the mother looked at each other.  This seemed too good to be true, so maybe it _wasn't_ true…

            It was that moment that a trio of cougores chose to attack.

            "If you don't believe me, I'll prove it to you!  Veemon, digivolve!"

            "**Veemon, digivolve to…Exveemon!**"

            Unfortunately, two could play at that game:  "**Vorre-tor-eliis****, noh ** **kreshnaiona ****djom…Vorre-tor-ospai!**"  The three cougores became one cybertooth.

            "Okay, not good," Hare thought aloud.  "You know, I sure wish that I had a massive transformation the way you guys do!  It'd really come in handy, right about now!  Dragon Kick!" he shouted.

            "Kin Non!" The cybertooth answered, shooting flame back at Hare and hurling him backwards into a dumpster.

            "Looks like it's just you and me!" Exveemon said.

            "Man, we should've brought Ken along!"

            "I'll just hit him with what I've got!  Rapid Vee Laser!"  Shot after shot knocked the cybertooth backwards, and, before long, the cybertooth was knocked back into the street, out of the alley.

            The cybertooth looked like it was in a daze.  Then it regained its senses and shouted, "Darwawo Ota!"  It fired a huge, red ball of energy back at Exveemon.  It hit Exveemon, and it hurled him backwards and forced him back down to Veemon.

            Veemon went flying into Davis's arms, and Davis fell backwards.  His digi-eggs went flying out of his pockets, to make matters worse…


	8. Chapter 7: Hard

Chapter 7:  Hard

            Rika sat curled up in her bed, still sulking.  Tina and Youngdramon entered the room to find her sitting there.

            "So…how did you sleep?"

            Rika buried her face in her pillow and began to sob.

            "…Rika?" Tina asked, surprised that Rika would react this way.

            "Just go away!  …And tell Izzy to assign me to a new room!"

            "Rika, we were only---"

            "If that's your idea of fun---"

            "People in glass houses, Rika:  if _your_ idea of fun is slaughtering virtual people, then---"

            "Just go away and leave me alone!  That's all I want:  to be alone!  Is it too much to ask?"

            Tina began to understand Rika's psyche.  "…I'm starting to understand you, now…  So, you'd like to be alone?"

            "Yes, I would.  …I would like to be alone...**_now_**."

            Tina looked at Youngdramon with an expression that clearly said, "Do we take the hint, or return it for a full refund?"

            Rika continued to sob.

            "Listen," Youngdramon said, "It was _my_ idea.  We didn't mean to hurt your feelings, we just---"

            "_Go away_!  How many times do I have to tell you??!!"

            Youngdramon motioned for them to leave.  "Man.  This is a rough case.  I think it's time to pull out the big guns, but I'd prefer a second opinion."

            "I agree with your opinion.  One question---what _are_ the big guns?"

            "I dunno…I mean, the duct-tape is right up there with shaving cream and underwear-on-the-pole.  I guess the big guns would have to be…" she whispered into Tina's ear.

            "Well, knowing her, that'll kill her or cure her."

******

            Hare jumped out of the dumpster with garbage still clinging to his fur.  "Great," he muttered.  He began running between the family and the cybertooth, making it clear that this was one of those "and-if-not" situations.  What he didn't notice was the object beneath his feet:  the digi-egg of courage.  He tripped over the egg and hit the ground, and felt a surge of energy.  Something weird was happening… "**Hare, module-evolve to…Firabbit!**"

            He opened his eyes and found that he wasn't the monster he'd remembered being:  he had red, bat-like wings sticking out his back, a pair of rocket thrusters on his feet, and gauntlets on his arms that looked like they held weapons.  "Whoa…I _do_ have a transformation like you guys!"

            "So what're you waiting for?!!  Use it!"

            "Oh…right.  Clinker Beam!"  One of his arms transformed into a cannon and shot out flame at the cybertooth.  The cybertooth took damage.  "Let's see what else this has!  Rocket Kick!"  He used the rockets on his feet to give his kick more speed, and then hit the cybertooth with the thrust.  "Man, that sure beats Dragon kick!"

            "Finish that thing off, already!" Davis shouted, still attending to Veemon's wounds.

            Hare picked the cybertooth up by the tail, lifted it higher up than the roofs of the surrounding buildings, and dropped it.  SMASHO!!  That ended the cybertooth's career.

            Firabbit landed, and the digi-egg of courage flew back in Davis's hands.  "Wow!" Hare shouted with a grin the size of the Amazon River on his face.  "Wait until Ghenki hears about _this_!"

            Davis scratched his head.  "I thought you Monsters kept the same form when you evolve."

            "I guess this must be an exception.  I mean, I've never heard of module-evolving before."

            "Well, now that you _have _heard of it…"

            "Yeah…I guess the rules are getting rewritten!"

            "Um…" the father began.  "You were saying something about a safe place?"

            "The nuclear power plant.  We don't know why, but these menace machines won't come within half a kilometer of there."

            The parents looked at each other.  There was some whispering and discussion about this family decision, and then they agreed to come with them.


	9. Chapter 8: Limited Success

Chapter 8:  Limited Success

            "…So, Mom, I _really_ need to go out there and do this for her!"

            Yolei looked into Tina's eyes to try and see if she was lying.  She shook her head.  "You're not going."  Tina looked down at the ground.  Her heart had just begun to sink when she heard her mother say, "**_I_** am."

            Tina looked up at her.  "You…you _will_?"                    

            "Sure.  Like you said, you don't know any more about her than you can tell me, so me going won't hurt the chances.  But you owe me for this."

            "I seem to owe everyone one way or another."

            "That's true, you do.  There's…one other thing.  You didn't go out without telling anyone; you told Davis.  ...I'm sorry I was so hard on you before."

            "Thanks, Mom."  The two embraced each other.  "So, does this mean I can leave the building?"

            "No.  This hasn't changed the fact that there are bloodthirsty robots outside."

            "That's true, but if you let me out there, that fact _would_ change!"

            "Uh-huh.  Save it for the rowdier orphans, kiddo."  Yolei lightly slapped Tina on the shoulder and walked off to find Hawkmon and an available companion:  it wasn't altogether safe to travel outside the power plant alone.

            She got for a traveling companion a small, armadillo-like creature named Moochi.  He was kind of cute (in her unspoken opinion), and seemed to be an overall cheerful person.

            As they were walking along, Moochi piped up, "Hare told me about the digi-eggs, chi!"

            "He did?  …What about them?"

            "They work on us Monsters, too!  All we do is touch them, and then we module-evolve!"

            "Really?  'module-evolve?'  …Well, hopefully, we won't have to find out if it works on you _too_ terribly soon.

            As they walked towards the mall, the weather again did something strange to them.  The air around them was warm and very dry, but the clouds above them looked the opposite:  they were black, loaded down with rain, and there were flashes of lightning every few moments.

            "Is the weather _always_ going to be this weird, chi?"

            "Maybe…we don't know.  That's one reason why I don't want my twelve-year-old daughter out in it."

            "---But you look like you're about twelve, chi."

            "Well, I am and I'm not.  Time is completely messed up on this planet.  Before time got messed up, I was an adult.  But now…it changed me, so that I look and feel like I'm twelve again.  It's weird, talking to my daughter eye-to-eye.  We're _exactly_ the same height, and the same age."

            "That is weird.  Looks like everything is weird here!"

            "I know what you mean."

            Hawkmon cut in, "How, precisely, do you expect that we'll be able to move the cargo once we get it?"

            "Well…I was thinking on your back as Aquilamon."

            "_That _ will certainly be enjoyable...What _exactly _will we be getting?"

            "Tina said it was 'for a tomboy girl who has _nothing_…except a cuteness-hating attitude.'  That's all we know.  I know that there will be a limit on how heavy or how big we can make our delivery, but I don't think that we'd end up getting something _too_ big."

            "I certainly _hope _not."

            Once they had arrived at the store and gotten a small pile of cargo to take back to the plant, Yolei held out her digivice.  "Ready, Hawkmon?"

            "Ready!  …**Hawkmon, digivolve to…Altairmon!**"  Altairmon looked a little different from Aquilamon:  Aquilamon had two horns, while Altairmon had only one.  Her strength and firepower were the same as Aquilamon's, so the change wasn't really any trouble.

            The trouble started when a few saberstrikes caught wind of the fact that there was a target flying above them.  Then… "**Ferra-tor-grend'l****, noh kreshnaiona djom…Ferra-tor-cknii!**"  The saberstrikes combined into several spiderstrikes.  The spiderstrikes transformed into their flight modes and flew after Altairmon.

            They didn't even notice the spiderstrikes until there were yellow laser beams flying down at them.  Altairmon was so weighted down that she could barely dodge, let alone return fire.

            Moochi began returning the spiderstrike's shots:  "Moochi Cannon!"  But the spiderstrikes were too agile for Moochi to land a hit, and agility was a thing that Altairmon most unfortunately lacked. 

            "I think we ought to drop the boxes!" Altairmon suggested.

            "There's something else we can do!  Module-evolve!" Moochi insisted.

            Yolei nodded.  "All right.  There are two digi-eggs in my backpack, Moochi.  See if you can reach them, I have to hold on to Altairmon, or else I'll fall off."

            Moochi began fishing around, and, before Yolei knew it…

            "**Moochi, module-evolve to…Turtledove!**"

            "Turtledove?" Yolei wondered.  She looked back, and what she saw looked like Moochi with his arms replaced by wings, a shell on his back, and a helmet over his head with the crest of love painted on it.

            "Time to show these things they can't just go around attacking people!" Turtledove flew away from Altairmon and began to dogfight the spiderstrikes.  Agility was a thing he seemed to have in huge amounts, not to mention firepower:  "Tempest Cannon!"  He fired red bolts of energy out his mouth at the spiderstrikes, and they all bit the dirt one-by-one.  He flew back onto Altairmon's back.  As he regressed back to Moochi, he shouted, "Wait until Hare hears about this, chi!"

            "Wait until _Tina_ hears about it."

******

            Rika was almost scared to crawl back into her bunk:  she was afraid that she'd wake up to find that Tina and her partner-in-crime had pulled an even worse practical joke on her.  But there was nothing to be done:  she had to sleep, and there were no available rooms for switching.  She reluctantly climbed in.  She was awake for hours, hoping that there wouldn't be a noise or anything to wake her up.  She fought fatigue---that evil fiend of the mind---for hours before it had her down for the count and asleep.  She had a dream that she was buried alive in rubble.  She couldn't breathe, and rocks were pressing onto her face and her chest.  She turned this way and that way in her prison, but she couldn't break free to reach an air pocket.  She began pushing the rocks out of the way, but more kept falling onto her and smacking her in the face.  She was running out of air, and she knew that she had to do something, or she'd die.

            She shot into a sitting-up position, and something rolled away from her.  She looked around.  There were Youngdramon and Tina, and they were holding boxes.  Rika looked at her bed, and it had been covered with similar boxes.  As she had pushed the boxes off herself, Tina and Youngdramon had been putting them back.  Each box contained something she would have enjoyed having:  stuff like violent video games and more sets of clothes.  She looked down at Tina.  "What's…what's all this about?"

            Tina looked at the ground and put her foot in a circle.  "We…we're sorry.  We didn't know that you'd take the duct tape prank like that."

            "How did you _expect_ me to take it?  Did you think I'd ask you to tape me up again?"

            Tina let out a guilty sigh.

            "Let me guess:  there are rubber snakes in each of these boxes; there's no clothes or video games in here!"

            "It's not like that at all!  ---Open it for yourself!"

            "_You_ open it!"

            "Okay, I will."  Tina tore open the bag and showed her.  It was just a pair of jeans.  "It's not a rubber snake!  It's clothes!  Look, I'm sorry I---"

            "You've said that a bajillion times."  Rika got up out of her bed, sending another half-dozen boxes careening to the floor.  "Excuse me, I have to eat."  Rika looked down at Renamon, and Renamon was asleep.  Rika didn't care to go outside the room alone, so she stomped hard on Renamon's tail to wake her up.  Renamon awoke with a sound that was somewhere between a whimper and a yelp.  "Renamon, some friend _you_ are!  You can't even tell that there's someone pulling a prank on me!  You'd make a swell guard dog!"

            "Rika, I _did _know that Tina and Youngdramon were up to something last night.  I made _sure_ that they weren't doing something worse than tying you up in duct tape.  This isn't a prank...not this time."

            Rika shook her head and stormed out of the room.  "C'mon Renamon.  Breakfast is getting cold."

            Of course, breakfast was served in heated trays, so everyone in the room knew that she was making excuses to leave.

            BAM!  The door slammed behind them as they left.

            Tina looked at Youngdramon.  "So…did it kill her, or cure her?"

            "I don't know; I think we need a _third_ opinion."

            "No kidding.  …Boy, Mom will sure be ticked once she hears how well this rolled over."


	10. Chapter 9: Torture

Chapter 9:  Torture

            Rika had something of a cross between cabin fever and a burning desire to keep away from Tina.  For this reason, she worked hard to change her sleep cycle and managed to get a shift on Seek Patrol that was at the exact same time that Tina was usually asleep.  She also slept during Tina's shift at the orphanage to ensure that Tina wouldn't get a chance to pull another prank on her.

            The weather during Rika's first Seek Patrol duty was rotten, and, for once, the sky and the air around her agreed.  Both looked like thundershower conditions.

            Renamon tapped Rika on the shoulder.

            "What _is_ it?"

            "Rika, this weather is getting pretty intense.  Do you think we should turn back?"

            "I'm not scared of a little rain.  And I want as much distance as possible between me and that spoiled-rotten, _little brat_!!"

            "Rika…"

            "_What is it_?!?!"

            "Rika, you're being too hard on Tina.  She's just trying to be your friend.  She only tied you up in duct tape as a friendly gesture."

            Rika stopped in her tracks.  Renamon couldn't tell for sure, but she thought that she noticed the raindrops instantly vaporizing from the heat on Rika's forehead.  Rika spun around and stared Renamon in the eye.  "_That_ is why I don't like the idea of having friends!  I don't like the idea of being tied down in bed, not even able to yell at them!  So don't you _dare_ try to be my friend like that!!"

            Renamon was taken aback:  this was one of the first times Rika had tried to really push _her_ away.  "Rika…I…"

            "Oh, _forget it_!!!" Rika spat, walking away.

            Still speechless, Renamon hurried forward to catch up with Rika.  Suddenly, Rika stopped.  There seemed to be some kind of a glow enveloping her.  "Rika, what is it?" Renamon asked, still catching up.

            "Renamon, I can't see!  It's too bright!"

            "What're you talking about---!"  Renamon had to shield her eyes from the brightness as she got another meter closer to Rika:  three suns were in the sky, and their beams burned right through the clouds, somehow.  Neither of them could see.

            It got worse:  the two of them could hear the smacking lips of a saberstrike somewhere near them.

            "Rika, come towards the sound of my voice!" Renamon yelled.

            There was the loud shriek of a sonic cannon.

            "Rika!"  Renamon felt human skin and wet plastic against her paws.  She scooped Rika up, turned around, and began running.

            "Garem Non!" the saberstrike insisted.  Renamon stopped and hunched over, setting Rika on the ground, but still hanging on to her.  She'd been hit by one of the saberstrike's low-energy sonic blasts, meant to mix up Renamon's stomach and make her too queasy to fight.  It seemed to work.

            "Renamon?"

            "Rika, I'm…I can't explain it; I feel like I'm about to throw up!  I don't know if I can still fight!"

            "I do:  **Digi-modify!  Stamina, activate!**"

            Renamon felt her energy increasing, and she did a back flip over the saberstrike's head.  The saberstrike growled in frustration.  "Say goodnight, hot shot!" she said, grabbing its tail, swinging it above her head, and hurling it to the ground.  It smashed to pieces.  Getting the exercise worked out of her system, Renamon shook off her fur and readjusted her poncho.  "Rika, are you all right?"

            Rika was also breathing heavily.  "Yeah.  …C'mon, let's keep going."

            As the day wore on, Rika found someone:  it was a tiny child who was huddled beneath a store awning.  She had her arms folded because she was so cold.  How she'd managed to stay under there without getting eaten, Rika didn't know.  But, unfortunately, Rika wasn't the warm, friendly humanitarian that one needs to be when dealing with such children:  she yanked the child to her feet and forced her to come along with her.  And until Renamon told her to, she didn't even give the child one of the "recovered child" raincoats that Sora had pilfered from the refugee camp in Montana.  Even when she did give the child a raincoat, Rika only tossed it over the child's head, fully expecting her to know how to put it on.  Unfortunately, the poor girl didn't, and just kept the coat draped over her head.  It didn't provide much warmth that way, and it kept falling off.  Before long, she was drenched and cold---worse than before.  That wasn't all of what Rika was doing to torture this child, either:  Rika was walking very quickly---too quickly for the little girl to keep up, and she kept falling behind.  But Rika continued to keep a tight grip on the girl's wrist, and with every whimper the child let out of her mouth, Rika only yanked her forward all the harder.  Before long, they were inside 500 meters of the power plant, so they wouldn't get attacked, but the absence of danger didn't make Rika slow down. She kept going and kept taking out every once of frustration in her mind on the child.

            As she was coming towards the plant, she saw Sora coming out.  Sora saw Rika and the way she was treating the girl, and Sora's jaw dropped.  "How can you torture that poor kid like that?!"

            "Like what?" Rika asked.

            "Look at her!  She's exhausted, she's cold, she's wet, and she's scared!  Is this how you've been treating her all this time?!"

            "Huh?"

            Sora scooped up the child in her arms and put the raincoat on the child more properly.  She held the child more tightly to her chest in a reassuring embrace.  "_You're _certainly being a good role model!  What _exactly_ did you do with her when you found her?"

            "I just picked her up and brought her here!  That's what I'm _supposed_ to do, isn't it?"

            "You didn't ask her where her parents were?  For all we know, her mother might've---"

            "I found her under a store awning out in the open.  If I were her mom, I wouldn't have left her where any menace machine can eat her."

            Sora frowned.  "You need to take care of these children; that's the entire idea.  If you can't love them, then you shouldn't be doing this job!"

            Rika frowned right back.  She hated mush, and "love" fit under that category.  "What-_ever_," she spat, walking back out to find another victim-child to torture.

            "This isn't one of those 'whatever' things, Rika!  How would _you_ like to be dragged two kilometers through a thunderstorm?  …In fact, didn't that happen to you back in Montana?  As I recall, you hated it so much that you wanted to die!  Do you want someone else to have to go through the same thing?"

            Rika stopped in her tracks, hissed over her shoulder, "_What---EVER!_" and began walking away again, trying to ignore Sora.

            Sora frowned.  She turned to the child and asked, "I'm so _sorry_ about her!  Did that old witch hag hurt you?"

            The child nodded with a sob.

            Sora wiped the child's tears away with her glove.  "You look like you could use a hot bath and a good meal, huh?"

            The child nodded again.


	11. Chapter 10: Startling Revelation

Chapter 10: Startling Revelation

            Rika was finally tired of walking around all day, so she returned to the nuke plant.  She entered the building and saw Yolei waiting for her with a scowl on her face.  "Rika, Sora told us that you brought a kid back the wrong way and that you were taking her without even asking her if her parents were around?"

            "What's it _matter_?"

            "It matters a _lot_, Rika.  You can't go around doing that to little kids.  We have _strict_ guidelines about things like this."

            "Yeah, whatever---"

            Yolei's frown grew even more menacing.  "Renamon, head for your room.  Rika will be joining you shortly.  Rika, you come this way."

            Renamon wasn't at all sure what would become of Rika.  Maybe Yolei and her were just going to have a heart-to-heart.  Yeah, right:  like _that_ would actually work!  Renamon sighed, shaking her head.  In the future, Renamon would have to be the one to carry the children back, not Rika.

            Renamon pushed the door to her room open, only to find Tina inside.  For some reason, she was wearing her raincoat and appeared to be holding something in her arms.  "Tina, what are you doing?"

            "Renamon?  …You've never met Joey, have you?"

            "Joey?"

            An inquisitive squeak came from Tina's direction.  Joey stuck his head up from Tina's arms.

            "What is that?"  Renamon sniffed Joey.  "Why is he covered in petrolatum?"

            "His skin gets a rash when he's not covered in petrolatum.  We don't know why.  I'm wearing my raincoat to keep the petrolatum off my clothes.  A few weeks ago, I found him outside my house.  We're guessing he's a digimon."

            "I see.  …He's not a digimon I've ever seen before.  Maybe Rika's D-Arc can identify him."

            "Speaking of, where _is_ Rika?" Tina asked.

            "Joey hope she long ways away," Joey chimed in.  "Joey not like Rika.  She a big meanie."

            Tina shot Joey a disapproving look.

            "Yolei said that she'd be coming here is a little while.  My guess is that she is talking to Rika," Renamon answered.

            "Why would Mom be keeping her?"

            "Rika…she was on seek patrol, and she brought a child here in the wrong way.  She didn't ask her where her parents were, and it was raining at the time and Rika didn't put a raincoat on her---at least, not in the appropriate sense of the words 'put on'."

            "What do you mean?"

            "Rika just threw it in the child's direction, expecting her to be able to wear it.  But the child didn't know how to dress herself, and Rika didn't help her put the coat on."

            "Yeowch."

            "Rika never gave the child a reassuring look or made it seem like she was taking her to a better place than where she found her.  Rika never even spoke to her.  The girl arrived wet, cold, and exhausted---not to mention scared and abused."

            "…Then I can see why my mom would be having a chat with---"

            At that moment, Rika came walking in with tears streaming down her face and one hand on her back.

            "Rika, what on earth is it---?" Renamon asked.

            "Just go away!  Leave me alone!"

            Joey whispered into Tina's ear, "We better listen.  Joey no want be anywhere _near_ Rika when she in bad mood."

            Tina reluctantly took Joey's advice and took Renamon with her.  "Man!  …What could set her off like that?"

            "I don't know."

            "I'm going to the horse's mouth on this one."

            "What horse?"

            "It's a western expression.  It means I'm going to find out what's _really_ the truth."

            "How are you going to do that?"

            "I'm going to ask my mom.  Come on, Joey."  Tina unbuttoned her coat and let Joey hop in her overalls pocket.  Renamon wasn't sure what to do, so she stayed by the door to warn off anyone who tried to enter.

            Tina found her mother with a riding crop in her hand.  _Whoa, that horse comment was prophetic!_  She thought to herself.  "Uh, Mom?  I noticed Rika wasn't exactly in a good mood when she came to my room."

            "Your room?"

            "She's my roommate.  And…she really hates to cry; you have to hurt her pretty bad to make her break down and cry like that.  What did you _do_ to her?  And why was she holding her side, like she'd hurt herself?"

            "Well…she clearly had the wrong attitude:  she didn't care that what she was doing was wrong.  So she had to be taught a lesson.  I couldn't take her food rations away because she needs to stay physically strong.  I couldn't keep her penned up in her room because we need her to work.  So the only option left is corporal punishment."

            "Sounds like a mean guy, this Corporal Punishment.  Maybe he should be promoted to Drill Sergeant Punishment."

            "You could say that.  Corporal punishment is basically a euphemism for 'spanking'."

            "Is that what the riding crop was for?"

            "Yes."

            Tina's jaw dropped for two reasons:  both out of pity for her roommate _and _because of the notion that, due to her own behavior patterns, _Tina_ might someday end up getting the riding crop to her side, too.  "Mom…!   Isn't that…_harsh_?!"

            "It's a lot less harsh than what she did to that poor girl she brought back."

            "…Yeah, okay, _maybe_.  But still…!"

            Yolei sighed.  "If you're her roommate, then you should know more than anyone that she needs to be taught a lesson."

            "That's true, but are you _sure_ that hitting her with a riding crop is going to help?  Sora told me that she was suicidal a few days ago!"

            Yolei was shocked.  "…Okay, I might've blown it, then.  She's going to have to be under constant supervision."

            Tina nodded in agreement, until it occurred to her:  "Oh, no!  You're not going to assign _me_ the job of looking after her, are you?"

            "No!  I'm assigning it to Renamon.  That's what she usually does, anyway."

            "Oh, good."

******

            Misty kept close to Ash as they were on Seek Patrol.  He was one of the few bits of familiarity in this strange world.  And it was no comfort to know that there were people outside the power plant in danger of getting _eaten_.

            Togepi suddenly squeaked:  he was hungry.  "Shhh!  Keep it down, Togepi!  If you're so loud, we'll get attacked!"

            Ash took off his backpack and began fishing around for food.  "I _really_ think we should've left him with Kari.  She has experience dealing with young creatures.  She could take care of Togepi for sure."

            "I guess you're right, it's just that…" Misty sighed.

            "What?"

            "I don't want to wake up in a strange place without Togepi."

            "Why would you?" Ash asked, still rummaging.

            "I woke up in a strange place once before!"

            Ash looked up at her.  "Okay, good point.  But…well, lightning never strikes the same place twice."

            "I sure hope not."

            "Misty, I really think you need to lighten up.  I mean, we're looking for people who need our help.  If I were one of them, I'd feel a lot more comfortable if I didn't see that the humanitarian workers were as scared as I was."

            "I guess you're right," Misty thought aloud, feeding Togepi.  "But…like I told you before, I just can't get my head around the idea that---"

            There was a huge ruckus coming from a nearby alley.  It sounded like dying menace machines, but Ash and Misty weren't sure.  Misty put Togepi in her backpack to make sure he wouldn't make a sound.  She and Ash crept up to the entrance to the alley, and they came upon a room-sized open area.  In it, there was one human being and a bunch of pokémon.  Ash immediately recognized that this was the unnamed thief he'd seen before some freak of time had dragged them off their home planet.  He could tell because he wore the same black sweatshirt on his back, and he had the same red, long hair on his head.

            Ash and Misty didn't know how to react to this:  if they brought the thief back to the nuclear plant, would he even cooperate with the rules, or would his criminal mind make him choose to disobey the rules and put everyone in danger?

            As the thief called back his pokémon, Misty and Ash were quietly debating whether they should take him back.  Suddenly, a voice broke their discussion:  "Freeze!"  It wasn't a voice that either of them had ever heard before.  They didn't know whether it was said to them or to the thief.  Fortunately, it had been the thief.  The person who said it had his brown hair slicked back, and wore a short-sleeved blue shirt.  He seemed to have some kind of a weapon in his hand, aimed at the thief.

            "What do _you_ want?" the thief asked in a very annoyed voice.

            "I won't have someone like you destroying my ator!"

            "_Your_ ator?!  You're telling me that those things my pokémon just trashed belonged to _you_?!"

            "They did indeed.  And they are on this planet to break peoples' spirits in preparation for our regime."

            "Regime, huh?"  The thief looked like he was thinking fast, and he came up with a solution to his predicament:  "…One question:  do you have a job for me?"

            The man stood motionless for a moment, apparently thinking about the offer. It was creepy how motionless he became; it was almost like he was dead or a statue. Finally, he answered, "…I suppose that we might, come to think of it."

            The two began walking away.  Ash nudged Misty, and he whispered, "Do we follow them?"

            "Do you _know_ how dangerous that could be?"

            "Misty, we might have a clue here so as to what's going _on_!  We can't pass this up!"

            Misty sighed.  "All right.  But if they see us---"

            "We have loads of pokémon to fight back with.  I _know_ it's dangerous, but it's worth the risk…_unless _you would like to go back to the plant and get reinforcements to help me follow---"

            "No you don't, Ash.  I'm not letting you out of my sight in a situation like this:  you _still_ owe me a new bicycle, and you can't pay up if you're dead!"


	12. Chapter 11: Ambiguity

Chapter 11:  Ambiguity

            Ash and Misty quietly followed the thief and this strange man.  They tried to listen to their conversation, but they were having difficulty making out what they were saying, because things kept blocking the sound as they ducked behind dumpsters and the distance between themselves and their two enemies kept changing.

            "What _exactly_ are these…'ator' things you're talking about?"

            "They are made of ternary data.  The Linonian Empire has been using them for decades as soldiers."

            "What are they doing here?  Is this planet one of the Linonian's enemies?"

            "Yes and no:  it's more like they're a target for our attack."

            "There doesn't seem to be all that much destruction to the buildings around here.  If you're fighting a war, then why are you leaving the buildings standing?"

            "It's not necessarily the buildings that we need to destroy.  To be sure, it doesn't matter to the Empire _or_ me what happens to the buildings.  The purpose of the ator is to break the spirits of the people and digimon that are native to this world."

            "Digimon?  What're digimon?"         

            "I'm surprised that you don't know; most humans on this planet would know what a digimon is.  …And weren't those digimon you were using before?"

            "Digimon?  No, they were pokémon."

            "Pokémon?  Hmm…are they a type of digimon?"

            "Maybe.  What're digimon?"

            "Subspace-interactive life-forms that have biological bodies in normal space.  They follow strict evolution chains that are divided into seven stages:  egg, infant, in­training, rookie, champion, ultimate, and mega.  All digimon follow that pattern."

            "Hmm…pokémon aren't like that.  Their evolution chains are a little freer than that.  Some don't even evolve at all.  And I don't know _anything_ about subspace."

            "I doubt you shall need to for the job we have in mind for you."

            "What _exactly_ will I be doing?"

            "There is an experimental project that one of our scientists has proposed.  You see, we have come across an individual who has some sort of subspace link with a digimon.  Apparently, he can force the digimon to achieve one of its higher forms with its link.  We're not sure how long it will take for our project to be completed, but it is clear that a human agent will be necessary for us to accomplish our project."

            "And I'm one of your candidates?"

            "Yes."

            "What _exactly_ would my salary be?"

            The man in the blue shirt gave the question some thought.  "I believe that a position as executive of Earth's mining operation would be the first thing I would offer you.  Once the Empire has control, that is."

            "Power, huh?  …It's a start."

            "Of course, you _would_ receive all the perks that come with the job.  All the salary you need to live in luxury, command over Linonian troops, and maids doing your every bidding…sounds nice to you?"

            "I'm in!  But one thing:  could you have the ator _bring in_ a few of the easier-on-the-eyes girls instead of icing them?  I'll want _them_ doing my every bidding."

            "I suppose we could arrange something, although ator have not been programmed to judge beauty."

            The thief laughed.  "You'd think not!"

            They stopped.  "Here we are," the man in the blue shirt said.

            "So…this is your headquarters?"

            "No, this is the end of our stroll."  Out of nowhere, a smallish spaceship seemed to shimmer into existence.  It looked as though it would only hold one passenger.

            As the two circled to the other side of the craft, their voices grew more distant.  "We're riding in that thing?"

            "Yes.  It wasn't designed for one of your race; Linonians are actually a lot smaller than you are.  I shall have to flood the cargo area with atmosphere and put you in there in place of this robotic body.  It will be a tight squeeze, but the ride should be short."

            Reluctantly, the thief got into the ship.  The spaceship took off and left the man wearing the blue shirt lying on ground as though he were dead.  Ash wasn't sure how he should react to this, so he and Misty didn't leave their hiding places.  "Could you hear what they were saying?" he asked.

            "No, I couldn't."

            "Do you think he's dead?" Ash asked, gesturing towards the body.

            "I don't think I want to check.  It could be a trick.  He still has that gun in his pocket."

            "Didn't look much like a gun to me, and he might have stuff with him that will help us figure out what's going on."

            "Ash, I really don't think that we should check to see."

            "I'm willing to risk it."

            "_Ash, no!!_" Misty hissed.  Ash didn't listen:  he picked up a chunk of brick that was lying next to them.  He tossed it in the direction of the man, and he hit him squarely on the face.  The man reacted the way a corpse would react:  he didn't flinch at all.

            "Even if he's not dead, then that would've knocked him out."  Ash got up and left the hiding place.

            "_ASH!!!_"

            Ash didn't listen Misty's repeated cries.  He walked up to the body, knelt next to it, and fished around in its pockets.  He only came up with two items:  a pencil that had something written on it, and the weapon he'd been carrying.  Ash pocketed both items and walked towards Misty, hoping she'd still be there.  She had hidden herself so well that Ash didn't even see her until he was next to her.  "He sure _acted_ dead," Ash said.

            Misty looked like she was crying.

            Ash helped her to her feet.  Pikachu jumped into her arms.  "Chu, _chu_!" he tried to reassure her.

            "Misty, there never was any danger.  I---"

            Misty slapped him across the face.  "Don't you _dare_ ever scare me like that again, Ash Ketchem!  If you die, I don't know what would happen to me!"

            Her right hook made Ash speechless.  He didn't say anything at all as he led her back to the power plant, but he silently hoped that, from what he'd found and heard, there would be some clue so as to what these menace machines---or "ator"---were…and why they were ravaging planet Earth.

******

            Rika had _never_ been whipped for something she'd done before in her _life_.  In fact, she had hardly ever even been punished.  She felt very abused.  And it gets better:  she was no longer on seek patrol.  Izzy had demoted her to cleaning maid.  That meant everything from cleaning floors to toilets, two things Rika didn't know anything at all about.  She felt like Cinderella:  mistreated, stepped on, and overworked.

            She felt like life wasn't even worth living:  she had no friends and a bad job, not to mention nothing but disapproval.  That is, she had nothing but disapproval that was backed up with punishment:  she'd been an only child, so she was spoiled and was rarely punished.  Any disapproval her parents had shown had been empty and unbacked.  But Yolei's disapproval was backed with punishment, and Rika was terrified of it and hated it.

            Yolei had whispered into Renamon's ear that Rika needed 24-7 supervision.  Renamon _sort of_ knew that already.  She kept her mouth shut as she and Rika scrubbed floors.  There didn't seem to be any dialogue at all, until Davis said, "Don't block the screen!" as she got between him and the television set.

            At the end of the day, Rika flopped down on her bed and wept into her pillow.  Renamon wasn't sure what was to be done…Rika neither told her to leave nor asked her for help.  Renamon looked down out of shame, but moving her eyes had another effect:  she noticed that the boxes Tina had brought in were still unopened and lay on the ground.  So she began opening the boxes that had clothes in them and putting the clothes in Rika's closet.

            Rika only seemed to notice that Renamon was even there because of the noise of her opening boxes and folding clothes.  Rika didn't even bother to tell Renamon that she wanted to be alone; that was rhetorical, by now.  She just gave Renamon the dirtiest stare she could make her face give.

            Renamon ignored Rika's glare and finished folding clothes.  She looked up at Rika, and did something she wondered if she wouldn't regret:  she walked up to Rika's bunk, nuzzled her face, and licked a few of the tears off from Rika's cheeks.  Rika didn't know how to react to this.  Still, not one word was said.  Their eyes were locked for a minute, as if silently asking each other what was going on between them.  Renamon saw Rika's uncertainty, and was satisfied that she'd affected Rika somehow.  Renamon walked back to the cushion on the floor that she had been using for a bed, curled up, and tried to get to sleep.  She felt a pillow smack her beneath the ribs.  She let out a yelp and looked up at Rika.  Rika was still sulking, but she was done crying.  She was staring off into space with a scowl, not looking at Renamon at all.

            POW!  Renamon hurled the pillow back at Rika, but she didn't hit her.  The pillow landed a few centimeters above Rika's head.  Rika threw it back.  POW!  Rika got it in the face.  All the more forcefully, Rika pitched the pillow in Renamon's direction.  She waited for the shot to be returned.  It wasn't.  Rika kept staring off into space and fought her curiosity so as to what Renamon was doing, trying desperately to remain indifferent.  Eventually, her curiosity won, and she glanced at Renamon.

            Renamon was waiting for Rika to look, and she had the pillow in her hands, ready to attack.  The moment she saw that Rika had looked, she slapped Rika across the face with the pillow.  Rika began fighting back with her other pillow, and, before they knew it, they were in a pillow fight.  Renamon let Rika win this one, and, to her great relief, Renamon heard Rika giggle as she pummeled her with the pillow.

            Renamon faked a swoon, took a few steps backwards, and played dead on top of her cushion.  She didn't look at Rika for fear of making Rika think she was gloating over having forced Rika to have a good emotion.  She didn't even peek to see how Rika was.  After the lights had gone out, Renamon knew Rika was going to sleep, so she curled up on her cushion and went to sleep, herself, hoping that this had done more good than harm.  But what was it really going to do for Rika…?


	13. Chapter 12: The JacquelineKeeves Institu...

Chapter 12:  The Jacqueline-Keeves Institute

            As Ash was walking through the lab, he threw Tracy a greeting on his way.  He was going to show Cleaver what he and Misty had found.  As he entered the lab, he saw Cleaver's workbench, and the workbench surprised him:  it was as much covered in scientific equipment as it was covered in knick-knacks, ranging from model airplanes to Sailor Moon paraphernalia.  Cleaver seemed to Ash like a guy who had too much time on his hands, and all this extra time was what allowed him to be an expert in stuff.  He shook off the urge to comment on the strangeness of the workbench and asked, "Did you find anything out about the pokéballs?"

            "I was right about the subspace theory with your pokéballs.  About those menace machines you brought in, I'm still working on it.  I can't seem to decipher their machine code, no matter what I try."

            "While Misty and I were out on Seek Patrol, we came across two guys.  One of them was a pokémon trainer, from my parallel universe.  The trainer was a criminal, and he was speaking to this other guy wearing a blue shirt.  They guy in the blue shirt was talking like he owned the menace machines, and he called them 'ator'."

            " 'Ator', huh?  …Weird name."

            "Up until the time when the thief asked the other man for a job, he was threatening the theif with this," Ash said, pulling the weapon out of his pocket.  "After he asked for the job, they were talking almost like they were friends.  I didn't get all of what they were saying, but I caught that the job the thief would get would give him the rich life and there was something about an…experimental project."

            "If those two are _really_ behind these menace machines, then, whatever that "experimental project" is, it can't be good.  Did you get why they were attacking Earth?"

            "No.  There was something about buildings not mattering, but other than that I don't know what they were saying."

            "Where are these two ne'er-do-wells now?"

            "I don't know.  The thief got in a spaceship-thingy and took off.  It looked like the other one…_died_, or something.  He just lay on the ground and acted like he was dead, and so I pulled this weapon off his body."

            "Did you check his wallet for ID?"

            "He wasn't carrying one."

            "Ah, well…knowing names wouldn't really help us much at this point, anyways.  The information age is over, so knowing a name might not help us track anybody down."

            "The only other clue was this pencil in his pocket.  It has the words 'Jacqueline-Keeves Institute' written on it."

            "Huh…the Jacqueline-Keeves Institute was a research organization for figuring out how the Digiworld works.  In fact, one of the tops dogs around here was a head scientist there.  I think it's time we paid them a little visit and see what we can dig up.  In the meanwhile, I really need to get to work on these…'ator' you caught.  They definitely have a data composition, but I can't seem to decode it.  I get nothing but garbage."

            "I heard the guy who had this pencil say that they were made of something called 'ternary data'."

            Cleaver was startled.  "_Ternary_?!  …That's unheard of!"

            "Unheard of?"

            "Yeah, but, then again, it explains a lot.  …_Man_!"

            "What?"

            "I was just thinking…if those things are made of ternary data, then they wouldn't be able to enter the Digiworld at all.  The Digiworld is made of binary data, zeroes and ones.  But ternary data is zeroes, ones, and twos.  So if they tried to enter the Digiworld, the twos would have to become ones and their data would get messed up."

            "…So it's a pretty big coincidence that the Digiworld is destroyed right before they come, huh?"

            "My thoughts exactly.  You tell Izzy that we need someone to scope out the JK Institute; I'll keep at it with these menace machines.  And thanks for the ternary data tip."

******

            Izzy, Kari, Sora, Yolei, Moochi, and Tiger crept towards the Jacqueline-Keeves Institute.  They were as quiet as they could be, knowing that any sound might give them away.  Tiger suddenly whispered, "_HIDE!!_" and they all ducked into an alley.  A few slagsters slowly drove by, looking for victims to burn.  The slagsters didn't see the heroes, and passed them by.  Once they were gone, the eight of them crept back out and began moving back towards the institute again.

            "So, what _exactly_ are we looking for?" Kari asked.

            "Answers," was all Izzy could offer for a reply.  "We just have reason to believe that someone who seems to be behind all these menace machines has some connection to the institute."

            "Any idea what kind of connection?" Yolei asked.

            "No."

            "Great.  So we're risking our necks to scout out a place where we don't know what we're looking for _or_ if this will even be worth it?!" Tiger asked.

            "Basically.  This is the first clue we've had in a long time.  ---Actually, it's the first clue we've had, period."

            Tiger snorted in frustration.  "Well, don't ask me to come on a mission like this, next time!"

            "Aw, cheer up, Tiger!" Moochi insisted.  "At least the weather isn't so bad, chi!"

            As the snow blew in, Kari turned up the collars of her raincoat and added, "…Well, it _wasn't_ so bad."

            "Don't worry; I came prepared for such a catastrophe," Yolei said.  She reached into her backpack and pulled out a few blankets.

            "So did I," Tiger remarked.  He shook his fur to fluff it up and make it more insulating.

            "Man, I need to get a pelt like that," Gatomon mused.

            "We'll have to make do until you grow one," Kari answered as she picked Gatomon up and wrapped her in her blanket.

            "Personally, I can't wait to get indoors," Izzy cut in.  "What say we pick up the pace?"

            "Not a bad idea," Hawkmon agreed.

            There was nobody guarding the door, and there was no one in the lobby.  "Sure is quiet," Izzy muttered.

            "Too quiet, chi," Moochi agreed.

            "So…what now?" Tentomon asked.  "Do we split up, or what?"

            "No, I'm the only one who knows my way around here."

            "Then where would you go if you were trying to mastermind a hostile takeover of a planet?" Tiger asked.

            "Probably the communications tower.  It's a few stories up.  So…do we take the stairs, or the elevator?"

            "Elevator, chi?"

            "It's a machine that lets us quickly move up and down different floors of a building, so they're like stairs, only faster," Yolei explained.

            "You're leaving out one important fact about elevators," Biyomon pointed out.

            "What's that?"

            "That they're _evil_!"

            "…chi?" Moochi asked.

            "Never mind," Izzy said.  "This building doesn't have electricity, and we need electric power to run the elevator."

            "The stairs then?"

            "Yep."

            They didn't find anyone in the communications center.  All they found were a couple short-lived humbugs.  Breathing heavily after using his Super Shocker, Tentomon asked, "So…since we have _them_ out of the way, what do we do now?"

            "The only other place I can think of would be the volatile data lab.  It's where I was keeping the Doommon DVD at the time all this started."

            "Might as well check there," Yolei agreed.

            As they approached, they heard strange noises that sounded remotely like speaking, but they couldn't tell.  They quietly crept up to the lab, and found that a few, tiny creatures were inside the lab, creatures that looked like gremlins and might have been digimon.  They were trying to use various kinds of equipment on the disks, datacubes, computers, and papers that littered the desks in the lab.  They spoke to each other in a language the Digidestined and Monsters couldn't make heads or tails of.  But the most interesting thing was that each little creature had strapped to its back a weapon that looked exactly like the one that Ash had found on the strange man.

            "This looks to me like we might get some answers," Kari whispered.

            "Yeah," Yolei agreed.

            "I'd hate to think our time here was _totally_ wasted," Tiger muttered…


	14. Chapter 13: DoubleWhammy

Chapter 13:  Double-Whammy

            "Funny:  I didn't think your mom would let you out of the plant, given the circumstances," June remarked.

            Tina sighed as she hopped along the jagged rocks that separated the grass from the sand at the shore.  "Well, she normally wouldn't.  I'll give you that.  But we're running out of fighters to work the seek patrols, so here I am instead of in the orphanage."

            "So…does this beat wiping noses?"

            "Actually, there wasn't that much nose-wiping in the orphanage.  But if you mean, 'Would you rather be here or back with the children,' I don't know.  I mean, I felt like I was all cooped up in the plant, but I kinda miss those kids.  They're a real joy.  Especially when you see the looks on their faces when you bring them something new, like a new video game or a soccer ball."

            "Hmm.  I've never really liked kids; I just don't relate well to anyone who isn't mature enough.  That's why I hate Davis so much."

            Tina giggled.  She looked up at the sky.  It wasn't raining at all, but the sky was thick with black, thunderous clouds.  "Man, weird weather, huh?"

            "I'll say.  Glad I brought my umbrella."

            "Hard to say 'weather' or not you'll actually need it," Youngdramon cut in.

            "Youngdramon, will lame puns like that _actually_ win us any points?" Tina asked as she jumped down from the rocks onto the sand.

            "Well, maybe not, I'm willing to admit.  But hey, I figured it was worth a shot."

            Tina shrugged.  Something metallic caught her eye that was floating in the water.  "Hey, what's that thing?"  Since she had on waterproof boots anyway, she began wading partway into the salty water, when the object jumped out of the water and made her back away.

            "What is it?" Tibemon asked.

            "Menace machine!" June shouted.  The machine landed on the sand, and it looked dead in the water---or dead _out of_ the water, to be more precise.  It looked like a small torpedo with two, blue eyes.  It exploded, sending showers of sand everywhere.  As the smoke cleared, June peeked out from around her umbrella.  "Tina?"

            Tina jumped out from behind the wall of rocks.  "I'm okay.  No sand in my hair."

            "That's why you wear a hat, huh?"

            "Yeah.  You know, I wish our military intelligence would _warn_ us about menace machines like this one!"

            "Makes you wonder why they call it 'intelligence', huh?" Youngdramon asked.

            "Do you have to mock _everything_?" June asked.

            "Everyone knows I don't mean one word of it.  But to answer your question…not if that thing has a say in it!  Dragon Bomb!"  Youngdramon spat a light blue sphere of energy out her mouth and shot at an android-shaped machine.  The machine exploded into pieces of metal.  Once again, June ducked behind her umbrella.  "Okay, maybe we _can_ tell that you'll need the umbrella," Youngdramon admitted.

            "No kidding," Tibemon agreed.  "I wonder what's next?"

            As a multitude of mandroids began climbing out of the water, Youngdramon spat, "You _had_ to ask, didn't you?!"

            "My bad!"

GAZRIITOR:

Nickname: Tor-pedo (Unagitōru)  
Real Name: Praze-tor-shend'  
Caste: Ro Var'ka  
Modes: One  
Special Attacks:  
Tetan Unutre  
Comments:  
The tor-pedo travels through the water at high speeds, and its only technique is to self-destruct and hopefully damage a target that is nearby. Its main use is to destroy powerful, sea-dwelling digimon and to sink ships that have many people aboard. It can also be used to launch near-shore ambushes, as ten tor-pedoes combine into one mandroid, a tor with a special attack that does not involve self-destruction. 

GAZRIITOR:

Nickname: Mandroid (Hitōru)  
Real Name: Praze-tor-epio  
Caste: Kohro Var'ka  
Modes: One  
Special Attacks:  
Non Gazrii  
Yon Tetan Unutre  
Comments:  
The Mandroid is a tor that resembles a human being. It is not as easily outwitted as other ator, and has superior stamina to a human being. The cannon on its arm has power between the rookie and champion levels. It will attack mon, but it usually will reserve human beings, either for other ator to eat, or for future enslavement. Similar to its previous form, tor-pedo, it can self-destruct, and it has ten times the explosive power of a tor-pedo. 

******

            "So what do we do about the gremlins?" Sora asked.

            Izzy chimed in, "If they're armed, then I don't think that we'd better ask them nicely to explain themselves and then get out of here.  It's better for us to ambush them.  But I'd kind of prefer it if we didn't completely destroy the lab in the process."

            "That'll be a feat to beat," Yolei answered.

            "I have an attack that might do the trick, chi!" Moochi offered.

            "It's worth a shot.  Go for it.  If there's any trouble, then module-evolve."

            "Right, chi!"  Moochi jumped in the door and shouted, "Cherry Blossom Blizzard!"  Moochi fired a barrage of flower petals into the room, and the blast was effective in battering the tiny gremlins.  The gremlins fell to the ground, one-by-one, but one picked himself up, took his weapon, and fired at Moochi.  Moochi staggered backwards

            Tiger jumped above Moochi and shouted, "Lightning!"  Two bolts of electricity shot out his horns and killed the gremlin.  "Not so dangerous after all, were they?" 

            Moochi groaned, nursing his APPEP burn.  "Remind me not to volunteer to go first the next time, chi!"

            "Maybe we can figure out just what they were doing now," Izzy thought aloud.  "Just so long as---"

            The shrill cry of a humbug cut Izzy's sentence short.  Tiger blasted it out of the air and silenced it.

            Kari let out a relieved sigh and said, "Good to know _he's_ out of the way, but what if---"

            Gatomon cut Kari off.  "Kari!" she cried, pointing out the window.  There was a Black Box outside, drawn by the humbug's cry.

            "You thinking what I'm thinking?" Kari asked Yolei.

            "Let's go for it!"

            "**Hawkmon, digivolve to…Altairmon!**"

            "Time to do our thing!" Kari declared.

            "Right!"  The two clapped their digivices together.

            "**Gatomon!**"

            "**Altairmon!**"

            "**DNA digivolve to…**"


	15. Chapter 14: New Forms

Chapter 14:  New Forms

            "Digivolving time!" Tibemon yelled.

            "Here goes…**Youngdramon, digivolve to…Ikudramon!**"

            "**Tibemon, digivolve to…Savamon!**"

            Savamon looked roughly human, but she was clad in animal hides held together by braided ropes of kelp and armed with a spear.  Ikudramon looked like a dragon meant for the water, but, unlike seadramon, she still had a pair of arms.

            "Time to do some damage!  Dynamo Blaster!"  Lightning shot out of Ikudramon's mouth and blew up several mandroids.  

            "Save some for me!  Cetacean Cage!"  Savamon waved her arms towards the mandroids in a kind of a pushing motion, and a row of whale ribs stuck out of the ground and jabbed into the mandroids.

            The remaining mandroids stood very close together…  "**Praze-tor-epio****, noh kresnaiona djom…Praze-tor-ortei!**"  The eight mandroids became two gorillouts.

GAZRIITOR:

Nickname: Gorillout (Eiponaka)  
Real Name: Praze-tor-ortei  
Caste: Kohro Nut'ka  
Modes: One  
Special Attacks:  
YoNon Gazrii  
Dra Don  
Comments:  
The gorillout is a man-eater. It doesn't put bimass into the mouth on its head; its true mouth is the opening on its belly. Out its mouth, it fires energy that is about equivalent to ultimate- level firepower. It has a lot of physical strength, and four mandroids will often fuse into a gorillout to overcome some obstacle, such as a wall or a locked door. The holes on its feet are micro-turbines that boost its jumps or propel it through water. 

            "Aw, great!" Tina muttered.  "You know, this'd be _so _much easier if _we_ could go to ultimate!"

            "Listen," June cut in, "I don't think we'll find anybody around here, anyway!  This place is too loaded down with menace machines!  Let's get out of here!"

            After a few shots (which proved ineffective against the ultimate-defense gorillouts), Ikudramon and Savamon retreated.  Tina, June, and Savamon jumped on Ikudramon's back and flew away.

            "Man, how much tougher can this planet _get_?!" Ikudramon asked.

            "Don't ask questions like that, Ikudramon!"

            "Right…sorry…"

******

            "**Gatomon!**"

            "**Altairmon!**"

            "**DNA digivolve to…Swampangemon!**"  Swampangemon looked quite a bit like Silphymon, but there were several differences:  her hair was more kempt than Silphymon's had been, and ended in a braid in the back.  She had a pair of wading boots covering all but the claws of her talons, and she had a yellow slicker that hung loosely on her back.  She was clearly prepared for the ickier conditions one could fight in, as her name implied.

            "Swampangemon?" Yolei asked.  "…huh!"

            "I just hope this new form can take on that Black Box!"  Swampangemon jumped out the window and began taking pot-shots at the box---to little avail.

            "So, what do _we_ do?" Tentomon asked.

            Izzy answered, "We get all their equipment and hope it gives us some clue what they were doing here!"  They furiously began pocketing every piece of equipment that was in the lab.  They hurried down the stairs, knowing what a Black Box could do to any building.  They ran out the door, only to find that the snow had mysteriously disappeared…but that was the least of their worries:

            "I could really use some help, up here!" Swampangemon shouted down.

            Yolei pulled out the digi-egg of love.  "Coming right up!  Ready, Moochi?"

            "Hit me, chi!  **Moochi, module-evolve to…Turtledove!**"

            Swampangemon and Turtledove were continuously firing at the black box, but each shot only seemed to leave a superficial scar on its armor and seemed to do no real damage.  But they persistently attacked every inch of it, searching for a weak spot.  They shot the eyes, the tail, and the turbine intakes, but nothing seemed to work.  But there was good news:  the black box's only way of fighting back was---for now---to swing its tail at them, and the tail was relatively slow-moving and easy to avoid.

            But this didn't last long:  a quintet of superslagsters came rolling in.  They drove under the black box, and, even though Birdramon, Kabuterimon, and Tiger were furiously shooting at them, they survived long enough to…

            "**Urbo-tor-andib****!**"

            "**Urbo-tor-prie****!**"

            "**Noh kreshnaiona djom…Urbo-tor-thera!**"  The five slagsters and the black box became one creature:  catamarine.

            "Uh-oh," Kari moaned.

            "Tuli Dra Jalnor!"  Spurts of lava flew at Swampangemon and Turtledove from all directions.  Turtledove was hit, and forced to become Moochi again.

            "Great!" Yolei muttered.  "And how is Swampangemon supposed to take care of that thing _alone_ if it's eighty million times her size?!"

            "Because she won't be alone!" Izzy shouted.  Turning to the fight, he yelled, "Kabuterimon, digivolve!"

            "**Kabuterimon, digivolve to…Megakabuterimon!**"

            "And about my size?" Swampangemon yelled back.  "**Swampangemon, mode-change to…giga mode!**"  In a flash of light, Swampangemon grew into a giant digimon.  She was easily as big as the catamarine.  She grabbed the catamarine and flipped it on its back.  It squirted lava at her, but it didn't have a long enough range to get her.  She backed away and charged up her attack, aimed squarely at its head.  "Static Pulse!"

            "Horn Buster!" Megakabuterimon joined in.  BLAM!  It was dead.

            Swampangemon once again became Hawkmon and Gatomon.  "Man!" Gatomon remarked.  "You know, that was weird!  I don't think either one of us has ever been _that_ big before!"

            "Amen to that!" Hawkmon agreed.  "But, I do have to admit that it's nice to see a _good_ surprise for a change."

            "No kidding.  So…what did you find in the lab?" Gatomon asked.

            "We don't know.  Those gremlins---they were studying every piece of data in the lab with these weird little devices.  I have no clue what those devices are or how they work.  We got their devices, and their weapons, too."

            "Moochi, are you okay?" Sora asked.  He had a couple of burns on his shoulder.  As Turtledove, his shell had protected him from the lava mostly, but not entirely.

            "Chi…" Moochi whimpered.

            Sora scooped him up in her blanket and climbed onto Megakabuterimon's back.  "We'll have to have Joe work on those burns.  You'll be okay."

            "Chi!"

GAZRIITOR:

Nickname: Catamarine (Leodoragu)  
Real Name: Urbo-tor-thera  
Caste: Yon Var'ka  
Modes: One  
Special Attacks:  
Tuli Dra Jalnor  
Kiro Tarr Kron'al  
Comments:  
This machine's defense is as formidable as a mega digimon's, if not more. It is capable of dispensing ten times the lava a slagster can and is dangerous to almost all mon, given its ability to go on land, in the water, and through the air. It is composed of five Superslagsters and a Black Box. It is somewhat clumsy in flight, but graceful in the water and on land. Overall, it is one of the deadliest machines created. 

AUTHOR'S NOTES:

            I bet you're wondering where I got the name, "Swampangemon."  Well, there's an old American legend about a girl who was essentially a giant.  She grew up to become as big as Paul Bunyan (another American Frontier legend), and she was nicknamed "Swamp Angel".  Part of her legend was that she fought with a bear that was as big as she was, and, to try and drown her, the bear forced Swamp Angel's head under lake.  So, what does a pioneer folklore heroine to do in a situation like that but drink the lake?  That gives you some idea what kind of legend Swamp Angel comes from. When I think about legends like Paul Bunyan and Swamp Angel, I think that those are weird tales---it's kind of like the mythologies of some ancient cultures, but they talk like the things that happen aren't supernatural...weird.

Information on Swamp Angel was taken from the TV show Reading Rainbow...or what I remember from it; it was years ago that I saw it...seriously! It was years ago! I'm not joking and trying to get out of admitting that I watch kids shows...oh, you're a find one to talk! This is a fanfic of Digimon, Pokémon, and Monster Rancher, and what age groups is that stuff aimed at? Huh? Quit accusing me!


	16. Chapter 15: On the Other Side of Town

Chapter 15: On The Other Side of Town…

            There was quite a hustle and bustle in the nuke plant the following morning.  Izzy had a new type of menace machine to have the research team catalogue, and so did Tina and June.

"Now, when you say they had a 'thing' on their chests, what kind of a 'thing'?"

"It was...I dunno; it looked kind of like an old radio," Tina said.

"It was more of a micro-radiator kind of a thing," June added.

"I dunno...micro-radiators don't have a little green light on them."

"Micro-radiators don't exist," Youngdramon cut in.

"And that wasn't a little green light, it was a medium-sized green light," June shot back.

"You call this medium?" Tina asked, holding her fingers up in a square.

"That light wasn't that tiny!"

"I looked smaller than that, I thought," Tibemon said.

"It did not! It was...well, maybe a little bigger," Tina admitted.

"No-no!" Youngdramon spat. "It couldn't have been that big! I shot it with my Dragon Bomb attack, and that is an energy sphere that is exactly 5.67 cm wide. That light wasn't half that big!"

Tracy shouted over the argument, "Girls, it doesn't matter. Any light less than 10 cm wide won't show up on my sketch: this machine was almost two stories tall, from what you told me before!"

"...No, it wasn't!" June said. "That was the giant gorilla; we're talking about the human-sized shock troops!"

Tracy stared at them blankly for a moment, and then crumpled up the sketch he had been working on and threw it in the recycle bin. "I wish you wouldn't confuse me like that."

"This _is _a pretty confusing crowd," Youngdramon said.

            ...After a long day, Tina flopped down on her bed and sighed.  Rika was on the top bunk, not responding at all to Tina's entry.  Rika wanted Tina to think she was asleep, but Tina knew better.  "Hey, Rika!"

            "Hmm?"

            "You're not missing much, not being on seek patrol.  We saw three new types of menace machine, and not one human being.  And we almost got covered in wet sand---more than once."

            "Hmm."

            "All we did was wear ourselves out," Tina added with a yawn.  "I can't believe how tired we are!  We didn't do all that much walking…but then, since time is messed up, I can see why we'd be so tired.  I mean, time might've made us feel like we walked for five hours when we only really walked for two."

            "Hmm."

            Tina unfolded the room's changing-screen, started changing into her pajamas, and continued talking:  "It's getting tougher to fight these things.  They keep DNA digivolving into higher forms and getting too powerful to fight!  This'd be so much easier if I had a DNA digivolving partner!"

            "Hmm."

            "One question:  you're the Digidestined on your world, right?  So, how did you go to ultimate?"

            "Hmm."

            "…Ah, that wasn't the kind of answer I was looking for."

            "♫Good Ni-ight!♪" Rika shot back, rolling over.

            Tina frowned…but there was nothing to be done:  Rika would push her away again if she asked, "Why do you always push me away?"  Tina shook her head and took Rika's advice, going to sleep.

******

            Pixie kept looking around the city for some sign of life.  What few people were wandering the streets were as clueless as she was.  The wound on her neck hadn't been serious and had healed over the few weeks since she'd met Ash.  (Myotismon hadn't managed to break any arteries; he bit her where a human being's arteries would be, and---since she wasn't human---there were no arteries there.)  She and Big Blue had been attacked more than once, but it had never been enough to get either of them seriously hurt.

            There was one person she met who was in a condition she didn't expect:  he was suspended by a pair of chains that weren't attached to manacles:  the chains were attached to sharp rings that were actually going _through_ his arms.  She didn't know much about this planet, but she knew that he was being tortured to death, for whatever reason. (1) She flew up beneath him and saw that, on the pedestal where his feet were bound with jagged manacles, there was a plaque with something inscribed on it in huge letters, but those letters weren't of an alphabet she'd ever seen before.  She asked him, "What're you up there for?"

            He gasped, and one word came out of his mouth:  "Trap!"

            Pixie wheeled around just in time to see that another group of gorillouts were about to attack.  She put her arms together and began firing at them.

            "Tornado!" Big Blue shouted, whirling himself into a twister and sending the remaining machines flying.

            Pixie asked a second time:  "Who put you there to torture you to death?" 

            "I…don't know.  They were these…little creatures…like gremlins…"

            Pixie looked him over.  Without medical help, she knew he'd die.  "Come on, Big Blue…help me get him down."

            "But, milady, what are we to do with him once he is down?"

            "He's lost a lot of blood.  We need to find a healer, or at least some place where we can keep him until he recovers."

            "As you wish."  Big Blue carried the young man in his arms as he and Pixie searched for a place to keep him.

            "What's your name?" Pixie asked.

            "…Matt…"

******

            Tina and June were out there again, searching for intelligent life, and Tina was doing something obnoxious, as usual:  she and Youngdramon were singing The Elements (2) song.  "♫♪There's Antimony, arsenic, aluminum, selenium,"

            "♪And hydrogen, and oxygen, and nitrogen, and rhenium, ♫"

            "And nickel, ♫ neodymium, neptunium, germanium,"

            "And iron, americium, ruthenium, uranium! ♪"

            "…Europium, zirconium, lutetium, vanadium, ♪"

            "♪And lanthanum and osmium, and astatine and radium,"

            "And gold, protactinium, and indium, and gallium, ♫"

            "And iodine, and thorium, and thulium ♫ and thallium."

            "…There's yttrium, ytterbium, actinium---"

            "_SHUT UP!_  That's an-noy-ing!" June spat, covering her ears.

            "…Considering that Rika is our roommate, you'd think we've already had fair share of sticks-in-the-mud, wouldn't you?" Youngdramon asked Tina.

            "June, doesn't such a beautiful day just make you feel like singing?"

            "First of all, not that song.  Second, I do _not_ have a good singing voice at all," June shot back.  "My singing is so icky that it would fit in more with a rainy day."

            "I guess a lot of people must be the same way, because lots of people sing while they're showering," Youngdramon thought aloud.  "So you don't have to feel bad:  you're part of the majority, and Tina and I are the exceptions."

            "Heh, funny.  And one other thing:  aren't you forgetting that the weather can change in the blink of an eye?  In fact, for all we know, it might start pouring while there are still no clouds in the sky!"

            "That might make it even better!  I mean, sun plus rain equals rainbow, right?"

            "Personally, I'd rather be dry than get to see a rainbow.  But that's just me."

            "That _is_ just you," Tibemon cut in.  "I can't stand things getting _too_ dry.  I'd be happy with some rain, about now."

            "Well, anybody that's here to be rescued probably wouldn't be too happy to get wet," June muttered.

            "If you hate water so much, then why did we go so far to search for people in this water park?" Youngdramon asked.

            "Because there are lots of places to hide in here, and you have to hide to live, what with the menace machines everywhere."

            "But what would they do for _food_?" Tibemon asked.

            "Can you say, 'concession stand'?" Tina pointed out.  There was a small pile of empty food wrappers sitting outside the window of one of the vending stations, so maybe someone was living in there, throwing their garbage out the window.

            "So…how does one introduce oneself in a situation like this?" June asked.  "I've never been that good at making new friends.  …_Especially when they're singing The Elements song_!"

            "I don't think you'll have that problem with this batch," Tina answered.  She knocked at the door to the vending station.  "Hello?  Anybody in there?"

            A woman's voice answered, "No!" and a girl's voice, also inside the station, began whispering furiously.

            "…I'd like to make a purchase!"

            "We're…closed."

            "Just like everything else in this city!  You wouldn't happen to be hiding from bloodthirsty, man-eating robots, would you?"

            "What if we were?"

            "I'm a Digidestined!  I know a place that's safe!"

            The young girl answered, "This place is safe enough for us!  Go away, before you attract them here!"

            "Listen, it's not as safe _here_ as it is _there_!  We don't know why, but the menace machines won't go within half a kilometer of the nuclear power plant south of here!"

            "We're fine where we are!"

            "I wouldn't be so sure about that!" Tina retorted as she noticed a few luftwaffles, attracted by the sunlight…

(1)        If you're planning on reading this footnote paragraph, it's better to read all of it so that you won't get anything out of context.  If you're a nerdfact database like I am, then you'll know what was really happening to Matt:  he was being crucified.  **Now, before you even _think_ anything, I'd like to let you know that this was** **_not_** **for religious implications at all**:  crucifixion was the worst way to die ever devised by humankind.  That's one of several reasons why Jesus died that way.  Crucifixion did two things:  it tortured the criminal to death, and it made an example of the criminal.  In fact, Adolph Hitler wanted to revive the practice of crucifixion to use as propaganda against anyone who wanted to defy him.  Whatever tyrannical party is working against the Digidestined was cruel enough to want to do this to Matt because they caught him and wanted to make an example of him for resisting their regime.

            Now I've given away too much information, but I figured I'd better do some explaining for the sake of the people who have been trained by their literature classes to read so far between the lines that the story almost loses its entertainment value. (I might have become one of you if I'd paid attention in literature class.)

(2)        The Elements was a song written by Tom Lehrer, from the album "An Evening Wasted With Tom Lehrer", published by the Reprise Record Company, 1959, #6199.  I have all six-and-a-half annoying verses memorized.  It's not annoying the first time I sing it; people are usually amazed that I can remember that much of it.  It has a total of 102 elements listed, but it's not tough to see that there can be more verses to add.  I'd write them myself and send them in to Reprise if I didn't have to keep an eye on my evil clone.

"…♫Ununubium, Unnilennium, Lawrencium, Seaborgium,

And maybe Unnilquadium, and Hassium, and Bohrium,

And also Rutherfordium, and Hahnium, Ununnilium,

Nielsbohrium, Meitnerium, and finally Unununium."

            I used Encyclopædia Britannica as my source to get those element names, their 1997 version.  Maybe there are more elements than this; I don't know.  As Mr. Lehrer's song ends:  "♫These are the only ones of which the news has come to Harvard, and there may be many others, but they haven't been discovered.♫"

(I bet I mentioned an element twice in that verse…)


	17. Chapter 16: Tina and JuneA Swell Team

Chapter 16:  Tina and June:  a Swell Team.

            Pixie plucked a bottle off the shelf, opened it, and sniffed the bottle's neck.  She reeled back at the smell. "This is definitely healer's alcohol if I've ever smelled the stuff!"

            "Do you think these would suffice as bandages, milady?" Big Blue asked, holding out a roll of gauze.

            "Probably, yes."  Pixie entered the pharmacy of the supermarket, where Matt lay, sprawled out on a table with a few slickers and jackets draped over him as blankets.  She put some of the alcohol on a cloth glove she'd found hanging in the store and swabbed it onto Matt's wounds.  "This'll sting, but it will keep it from getting infected."

            "No kidding!" Matt groaned.

            Pixie wrapped the wounds in the gauze after she was done.  After the alcohol had done its work, there was little bleeding to stop.  The rings hadn't punctured any major blood vessels, which was nothing short of a miracle.  But as Pixie finished tying the last of the bandages, she heard a metallic clink on the floor.  The closest thing to this sound that she could recall was the noise of a coin falling onto a stone floor.  She looked, and there was a small, box-shaped, metallic object on the ground.  It had fallen from Matt's hand.

            Pixie picked it up and looked it over.  It had a dark-colored rectangle on one side, a horn sticking out one of the corners, and a few black spheres on the front.  It seemed to have things written on it, but she couldn't read the inscription.  "What on earth?"  Pixie began fingering the black spheres to feel their texture, and one of them seemed to give way.  She gasped as the coin exploded with light, and a strangely colored egg appeared, attached to the black rectangle on the front.  She felt the egg to make sure it wasn't an illusion.  It was real.  "What is this?"

            "I suppose it would make a good supper for you, milady."

            Matt insisted, "Don't eat it!  That's Gabumon, in there!"

            "What?"

            "The egg will hatch and grow into Gabumon," Matt insisted.

            "Gabumon?  …What's a Gabumon?"

            "He's my digimon!"

            "Digimon?" Pixie looked at Big Blue.  She wondered if Matt had gone crazy.  She'd never heard of he word "digimon" before.

            Big Blue whispered, "He may be insane.  But there is other food in this building; if he is not insane, then we shouldn't eat the egg.  I recommend we don't eat it; it's a risk we don't have any real reason to take."

            Pixie thought over the advice.  She put the egg in a windowed box where it would probably be safe and shut the door.

            "Not in the microwave!" Matt insisted.

            "Just calm down.  We're not eating the egg, I promise.  You need to rest."  It took her a while to calm Matt down; he didn't know that Pixie didn't know how to switch on the microwave.  But there was a problem:  as Pixie was leaving the pharmacy to get something for Matt to eat, her arm bumped the "start" button on the microwave…

******

            "**Youngdramon, digivolve to…Ikudramon!**"

            "**Tibemon, digivolve to…Savamon!**"

            Savamon drew her spear and used it to reflect away a few shots the luftwaffles were taking at them.  "What're you waiting for, Ikudramon!  Shoot!"

            "Dynamo Blaster!" Ikudramon shouted, firing tendrils of lightning at the luftwaffles.  A few went down, but not enough:

            "**Nne-tor-atet****, noh kreshnaiona djom…nne-tor-ensio!**" twenty-six of the luftwaffles became one queuebe.

            "So, what's the plan?" Ikudramon asked.

            "Good question--- uh-oh!" Tina yelped.  "There are a lot more people in here than just a mother and daughter!"

            There were two families living inside the vending station, and one of the families was out-of-place:  apparently, the mother and daughter had switched ages.  The mother had become a four-year-old child while the daughter had become a woman, long before she knew how to act maturely.  (The poor child didn't know how to read yet, let alone how to react to everyday circumstances---_normal_ everyday circumstances, where there isn't a horde of man-eaters around!)

            "Then we have to defend them!" June shouted back.  "But how?"

            Tina looked at her digivice.  "You thinking what I'm thinking?"

            "DNA digivolve?  …It's worth a try!"  They clapped their digivices together.

            "**Ikudramon!**"

            "**Savamon!**"

            "**DNA digivolve to…Mermon!**"

            "Mermon?!" June and Tina asked simultaneously.  Mermon was, as the name implied, a mermaid.  She wore gold armor, she could fly through the air, and she was armed with a long-handled axe that had some weird apparatus attached to the blade.

            She flew up to the queuebe.  "So, you want to play a little game of combinitorics, huh?  Well, two can play at that game!  …Or, more to the point, twenty-eight can play at that game…"

            "Y'nura Dar!" the queuebe shot a red beam at Mermon.

            "Oh, no you don't!  Mer Poleax!" she sliced her axe at the beam and reflected it back at the queuebe.  It knocked the queuebe backwards, but didn't do any damage.  "And now for the big finish!  Destructor Torpedo!"  Mermon aimed the tip of her axe at the queuebe, and a purple missile shot out and incinerated the queuebe. It didn't take much for her to finish the other luftwaffles, either.

            Mermon flew back down to the people in the station.  "You're sure it's so safe in here?" she sarcastically asked.

            "…Okay, maybe not," one of them replied.


	18. Chapter 17: What Is ThisA Soap Opera?

Chapter 17:  What Is This?  A Soap Opera?!

            Renamon was steamed:  Rika had accidentally spilled bleach on her, and her fur now had an unsightly white spot that smelled awful and refused to come out.  Renamon could tell that Rika felt embarrassed, and yet Rika still wasn't socially confident enough to apologize.  Renamon knew she needed to be flexible with Rika, but there was only so far she could go before even _she_ would snap.

            But she hadn't quite reached that point:  she had yet to confront her "suitor", Hare, with the ugly spot on her fur.

            "Hey, Renamon!" Hare shouted from a distance, face flush like a tomato.

            "Hare?!"  She covered her white spot with the rag she'd been using to scrub the floor.

            "Hey, uh…when's your shift done?"

            "In two hours.  Why do you ask?"

            "Ah…I was just wondering…I've heard that the food will be great tonight.  Would you---"

            "You have no idea how much I'd love to be able to do dinner, Hare, but…"

            Hare sighed.  "I understand."

            "Actually, you don't," Renamon murmured under her breath.  She looked down at her white spot, and she noticed that the rag she had covered it with had also been soaked with bleach, widening the white spot and making it even worse because the bleach water was dribbling down her pelt.

            Rika snickered.  Renamon shot her a dirty look, and Rika retreated back into her shell of social isolation.  Renamon threw down her rag and left.  Rika didn't know what would come of this, but she kept scrubbing.  Rika eventually found Renamon sulking in their room.  Rika was still a little timid, but she managed to get this out of her mouth:  "You've got two choices:  bleach the rest of your fur, or…"

            "Or what?"

            "Maybe…Mimi could do something with it."

            "Mimi?  Why would she know anything about fixing my fur?"

            "Well…on the TV show, she seemed constantly concerned with looks…she might know something about dyeing fur colors."

            "It's worth a shot, but how do I get there without being seen?"

            "I have one idea."

******

            Hare saw Renamon walking past again, this time with her opaque poncho on.  "Hey, Renamon!"

            "Sorry, I can't stop to talk," Renamon quickly said as she hurried by.

            Hare was more downhearted than ever.  But then it occurred to him:  "Hey, I thought you were demoted from seek patrol?  Why are you going outside?"

            "Ah…I can't stop to explain."

            Hare could tell when someone was lying to him, and he could tell that Renamon was hiding something.  So he said, "Then I'll walk with you while you explain it."

            "Don't you have anything better to do?"

            "Not really, no.  I'm off duty."

            Renamon could also tell what Hare was doing:  he was pressing her.  "It's…top secret."

            "Somehow, I don't think they'd entrust a top-secret assignment to you if you're without your human."

            "_Please_.  I have to ask you to stop asking questions.  Don't worry.  By tomorrow, everything will be back to normal…_I hope_."

            Hare wondered how he should respond.  Renamon saying that everything would be normal tomorrow was the kind of thing he wanted to hear, except for the "I hope" part.  He sighed.  "I hope they do, too."

            As he walked away, Renamon sighed.  She felt guilty for not telling him the truth.  Maybe---she'd tell him the next day, when her fur was back to normal.  She kept walking for Mimi's room, hoping that she'd be off-duty and willing to help.

******

            Pixie was taking boxes of what she hoped was food off the shelves of the supermarket.  She couldn't read the English alphabet, so she didn't know what she was getting or how to prepare it once she'd gotten it.  There was one good thing, though:  there were transparent bags of bread and cheese in the store.  That was just about all she recognized.  She heard a loud clacking noise behind a couple of doors.  She readied her special attacks, hoping that she wouldn't have to use them.  She burst in the doors, and found herself face-to-face with a blue dragon.

            "Gyarados, Hydro Pump!"  A spray of water flew out of the dragon's mouth at the command of the young man who flanked it.

            "Firewall!"  Pixie created a wall of flame that blocked the spray of water from herself. 

            "Must be a fire-type!"  He pulled a small red device out of his pocket that said, "Pokémon unknown.  No available data."  "Great," he spat, putting the device away.

            "What was that thing?" Pixie asked.  "I've seen one of those before.  Someone named Ash had one."

            "Ash?!" he asked.  "You know Ash?"

            "Not well.  I met him a few weeks ago, and I haven't seen him since he and I separated."

            He flushed.  "Ash was my next-door neighbor.  Sorry for attacking you; I've had some unfriendly visitors."

            "Join the club.  It makes me wonder where all these things are coming from."

            "Yeah.  Gyarados, return," he said, calling Gyarados back into his pokéball.

            As Pixie saw Gyarados disappear in a flash of red light, her jaw dropped open in surprise.  "What did you do to him?"

            "…It doesn't hurt!  I just called him back."

            " 'Called him back?'  What're you talking about?"

            "…What planet are you from?"  His face turned from annoyed to afraid as he noted the significance of that question.  A long explanation ensued of what a pokémon is and what a monsters is.  It was quite overwhelming, but Pixie suddenly realized that she was keeping Big Blue and Matt waiting.  She asked to be excused, and he told her to go ahead.

            "By the way, what was your name?"

            "Gary."

            Pixie kept the name in mind as she raced back to the pharmacy to feed Matt.  She found him crying.  "Are you in pain?"

            "You killed Gabumon!" Matt got in between sobs.  As if getting tortured half to death wasn't enough, now he'd lost his best friend.

            "Huh?"

            "You put the egg in the microwave oven and switched it on!"

            "Microwave oven?  That thing I put the egg in was an _oven_?"

            "Yes!"

            Pixie opened the microwave and felt the egg.  "It's not hot at all!"

            She heard a cracking noise.  Out of the egg popped a small, red creature.  Pixie slowly scooped it up in her hands and looked it over.  "Gabumon?" she asked.

            "What happened?" Matt asked.

            "It hatched," Pixie answered.  She showed Matt the tiny creature.  It instantly hopped onto the table and began rubbing its head against Matt's cheek.

            "Punimon," Matt sighed.

            "It felt good to feel so warm for a while!" Punimon peeped.  (The microwave hadn't been set to cook for long enough to hurt him.)

            Pixie couldn't help but giggle.  She unwrapped the bread and fed them both.  "Now, get some rest.  You need to recover."

            Matt sighed his agreement and instantly fell asleep.

AUTHOR'S NOTES:

            Okay, I'll admit that was an obvious way out of resolving the microwave cliffhanger---or maybe I made it too cute to fit in with the blood-and-guts in the rest of Salvage Earth.  But what would you expect for a cliffhanger like this?  Someone's comatose in the microwave, what's going to happen?  The microwave won't kill him, that's what!


	19. Chapter 18: I Guess It Is a Soap Opera

Chapter 18:  I Guess It Is A Soap Opera!

            "I'm sorry, Renamon!  It's the best I can do."

            "Well…thank you for giving me some of your time to this."

            "You should keep that part of your fur dry and avoid putting pressure on it for the next five days."

            "That will be difficult to do."

            "If you don't, then it'll look even worse."

            Renamon sighed.  She tucked her poncho under her arm and hurried back to her room.  As she was walking to her room in the halls, Hare caught her in the corner of his eye, and he noticed that her poncho wasn't wet at all and that there was a strange smell on her.  "Hey, Renamon!"

            Renamon's face instantly flushed.  "Hi, Hare…"

            "So…how'd it go?"

            "Fairly well…excuse me, I have a shift in the morning."

            "Aren't you missing dinner?"

            "I'll…I'll survive."

            Hare decided to ask her about the smell that was coming from her:  "Did…you have to handle strange chemicals in this mission?  I mean, there's this smell I noticed---"

            "That's---what I was doing, yes, you could put it that way…"

            "You really ought to shower off, then.  I mean, weird chemicals can hurt you if---"

            "Oh, no…I'll be fine, trust me."  But trusting her was a thing that Hare was having difficulty doing.  Renamon rushed back to the room before anyone else asked her anything.

            "Success?" Rika asked.

            "Sort of.  I'm not supposed to touch the spot or get it wet."

            "We'll need to get you a waterproof apron…"

            "If I'd had one of those to begin with, then this wouldn't have happened!"

            Rika sighed.  Without knowing what she was saying, she said, "I'm sorry."

            Both were shocked at Rika's sudden social action:  she had apologized for one of her mistakes!  This was a major, albeit accidental breakthrough for her!  Renamon stuttered, "It's okay, Rika…I forgive you."

            Rika was further shocked.  She really didn't know how she was supposed to feel.  It felt strange and wonderful to be forgiven, but on the other hand, she felt extremely shy…bashful enough to make her want to go into the fetal position inside a safe and lock herself in.  She curled up in her bed and turned her back to Renamon out of her introversion.

            Renamon sighed.  _It never ends_, she thought to herself, lamenting over Rika's coyness.

            But, then again, she was more than a little shy, herself:  she had refused to tell Hare the truth, even when she'd promised herself that she'd tell him about the bleach.  Shaking her head, she curled up with her back to Rika, and went to sleep.  (If she had slept with her face towards Rika, she'd have put pressure on the dyed spot.)

             Few hours later, Tina and Youngdramon quietly entered the room, and saw that Renamon and Rika were sleeping with their backs turned to each other.  "Uh-oh!" Tina whispered to Youngdramon.  "They're mad at each other!"

            "Are we going to have to play peacemakers?" Youngdramon asked.

            "Afraid so."

            Youngdramon cautioned, "If we're going to get involved, then---"

            "Oh, come on.  We'll address the issue in the morning."

            " 'Address the issue!'?  What are we, politicians?  Like I've told you, you ought to run for office!"

            "We'll have to see how my diplomatic skills carry over."

******

            T.K., Cody, and Golem were on seek patrol together.  Chilly winds nipped at their cheeks and ears and made them wonder how anyone would be able to survive out there.  But that was all the more reason to get anyone and everyone out of there.

            "You know, Cody, I think that we really ought to check the insides of some of these buildings.  It'll be warmer in there.  I mean, I wouldn't stick around outside if I were a refugee."

            "Which one should we check?"

            "Probably a big one---you know, with a boiler room."

            "It's worth a shot, I guess…how about that one?" Cody suggested, pointing to a huge office building.  They left Golem outside while they investigated the inside of the building.

            "T.K., one question:  are we supposed to check _every _room in this building?"

            "Good question.  But I don't see what choice we have."

            "Great.  If Golem gets attacked out there, he'll be a disk by the time we get down there."

            "For one thing, it shouldn't be that tricky for Cleaver to revive him.  And for another thing---"

            They heard the roar of a spiderstrike outside.

             "Never mind…!" T.K. shouted as they did a 180° and ran for Golem.

            They skidded to a halt.  "Great.  So what're you thinking?"

            "Two words:  DNA…digivolve!"

            "**Armadillomon, digivolve to…Ankylomon!**"

            "**Patamon, digivolve to…Angemon!**" Angemon's form was a little different: he wore a long white robe, but, other than this, his form and attacks hadn't changed.

Cody and T.K. clapped their digivices together.

            "**Ankylomon!**"

            "**Angemon!**"

            "**DNA digivolve to…Archaeopteryxmon!**"

            Archaeopteryxmon looked like more of a cross between Ankylomon and Angemon than had Shakkoumon.  He had scaly, yellow skin and a pair of golden wings.  He was armed with a mace that had a long handle.

            "Golem!" Archaeopteryxmon shouted.  "Get out of the way!  Optics Beam!"  Archaeopteryxmon fired a pair of red lasers out his eyes and knocked the spiderstrike out of the sky.  "That wasn't so tough!"

            He'd spoken too soon:  He was immediately hit in the back with a huge, blue sphere of energy.  He looked unconscious.

            "Aw, great!" T.K. muttered as he looked on at the gorillouts that were readying their attacks.

            "So, how do we get out of this one?" Golem asked.

            "Good question," T.K. admitted.

            "Wait, what about module evolution?" Cody wondered, pulling the digi-egg of knowledge out of his pocket.

            "It's worth a try," Golem agreed.

            Cody touched the digi-egg of knowledge to Golem's leg.

            "**Golem, module-evolve to…**"


	20. Chapter 19: Falterings to Reconciliation

NOTE:  There is some Christian content in this chapter, near the end.

Chapter 19:  Steps Falterings to Reconciliation

            "Sir, it seems that there is no corpse for us to examine.  It was our original purpose to examine the remains, but no remains are to be found."

            "Have the individual responsible terminated."

            "Understood, sir; we shall begin an investigation immediately."

            "But what was the nature of the disappearance?  Did a tor consume them?"

            "We doubt it, sir.  The ator are programmed to defend the position, not consume the remains.  There may be a programming flaw; protocol tells us to await your orders before beginning an investigation."

            "Have you no idea what happened?"

            "Only that there is relatively little fluid where we expected the remains to be.  We aren't sure what that would mean; a storm system might have washed away the fluids.  There are a number of possibilities---"

            "Be careful what you do, lieutenant:  I will not have our experiments delayed, and I am holding you accountable with your life---the same as all servants of the Linonian Empire."

            "Understood, sir."

******

            "So…what _exactly_ are we planning to do to get them on talking terms, again?" Youngdramon asked.

            "First we assess the situation."

            "Easy enough:  they aren't talking to each other at all."  Youngdramon motioned to Rika and Renamon, who were both cleaning silently.

            "Okay, now we need to come up with ideas on how to get them back together…"

            "Hmm…" Youngdramon thought.

            "Hmm…" Tina thought back.

            "Hmm…" 

            "Hmm…" 

            "Hmm…"

            "Hmm…"

            "Hmm…"

            "...Uh, whose turn is it?"  Youngdramon asked that question a little louder than she should have, and she got both Rika's and Renamon's attentions.  They both stared at them.

            "Uh…What?" Tina asked.

            Renamon and Rika looked at each other and then continued working.

            Tina and Youngdramon quickly began walking away from the room.  "Boy, we'd better keep quiet, otherwise they'll catch on!"

            Youngdramon nodded.  "Sorry for almost giving us away."

            "Well, you _didn't_ give us away."

            "Now…what do you think set them apart in the first place?"

            After thinking about it for a minute, Tina snapped her fingers.  "I bet that it was them getting demoted that started this!"

            "So…what're you saying, that we should get them promoted again?"

            "Well, if we can talk Mom into putting Rika back on seek patrol…"

            "How would we do that?  You heard what Rika did to that girl!"

            "But what if someone would teach her how to handle young children?"

            "Where on earth would we get someone who would know how to handle kids?"

            "Hmm…I know!  Kari was a kindergarten teacher; she had to have had some training!  Maybe she can show Rika a thing or two."

            "It's worth a shot.  I just hope Yolei will like the idea."

******

            "**Golem, module-evolve to…Moleg!**"  Golem didn't seem a great deal different, except that he had golden armor on his forearms, legs, and head.  He had energy drills on his arms that he would probably be able to use for digging if necessary, but right then, they looked more like formidable weapons.

            The gorillouts kept firing at them:  "YoNon Gazrii!"

            Moleg's drills glowed a bright purple.  "Heat Coil!" he shouted.  Using his drills, he reflected the shots back into the gorillouts.

            The gorillouts switched tactics:  they decided to try close-quarter combat instead of long-range.  They began running towards Moleg to mob him and pound him into gravel with their fists.

            "Energy wedge!" he shouted, firing beams of purple energy through the gorillouts.  He succeeded in taking down a few gorillouts, but there were just too many to take out that way.

            Archaeopteryxmon shook off the blow and came to his senses.  "Wha?"  He jumped to his feet and began slashing through the gorillouts with his mace:  "Bludgeon Smite!"  Metal went flying everywhere.  He mixed in his other attacks, and before long, the only ones standing were the two Digidestined, Moleg, and Archaeopteryxmon.

            "Well…that went well," T.K. thought aloud.

            "So…what now?  Do we go back inside and look for more people?"

            "I doubt it:  if we keep going, Golem and our digimon will end up worn out and we won't be able to fight again if we run into more menace machines."

            "So…we turn back?"

            "It looks like we should, yeah."

            Moleg became Golem again and the egg of knowledge flew back into Cody's pocket.

            They began moving back to the nuke plant at a quick pace.  "One question, Cody…why did you become a priest?"

            "God was calling me in that direction."

            "Do you have any idea why?"

            "Soft of.  I mean, I enjoyed my office as Archbishop of Server while I had it, and they needed me there. But now…" Cody sighed.  "I feel like I'm the only clergyman left.  Someone has to give mass and baptize children."

            T.K. shrugged.  "I'd be surprised if you really _were_ the only one left, Cody," he thought aloud.  "I mean, we've found how many people?"

            "Last I checked, the number was around 300.  Why?"

            "Well…what percentage of the people in the world are priests or pastors?"

            "I don't know exactly, but I see what you're getting at.  But I haven't met anyone who is a practicing reverend yet, so I'm sticking to my job."

            "How many children have you baptized?"

            "I don't know…four or five.  Not everyone asks to be baptized."

            "Hmm."  There wasn't much conversation after this; they didn't want to make unnecessary noise and attract menace machines.  But there was something interesting to talk about when they made it to within 500 meters of the nuke plant:  "Say, isn't that the girl who got demoted a week ago?" T.K. asked.  Rika and Renamon were walking out form the nuke plant, along with Takato and Guilmon.  They were on seek patrol, but how Rika managed to get on seek patrol was a mystery.

            Takato waved to them.  "You've been gone for three days!" he shouted.

            Cody shook his head.  "I wish there were some way we could avoid all this messing-up of time!"

            "I don't know if there is, Cody," Golem admitted.  "I guess a lot can happen in three days, so we're missing a lot."

            "At least the weather didn't get all weird on us."

            "Hmm."

AUTHOR'S NOTES:

            I didn't like Shakkoumon.  Don't get me wrong; he was powerful and a good fighter, and I'll even admit that he looked aesthetic fighting next to Imperialdramon and Silphymon, but I just didn't like him.  For one thing, he doesn't look like the combination of Angemon and Ankylomon:  I can see something of Angemon in the wings and in the color scheme, but I can't see any of Ankylomon in anything except in Shakkoumon's stocky build_...maybe _something in the head.  Shakkoumon wasn't like Paildramon and Silphymon; they looked like the combinations of their lower forms.  Paildramon had a few definite parts of Exveemon, such as the blue skin and tail, and he had some definite characteristics of Stingmon, too, in the gauntlets and black armor.  Paildramon kind of looked like Exveemon wearing Stingmon. Silphymon was basically Gatomon's top half and Aquilamon's bottom half, so he was the combination of his constituents, too.  Shakkoumon was different.  I'll admit that he looked good alongside Paildramon and Silphymon in battle, and he complemented their sizes, too:  he was huge while the other two ultimates weren't all that big.  But Swampangemon takes the niche of the large ultimate in MON: 2028, and Archaeopteryxmon is taking a different role:  even though he's smaller, his specialty is still handling his opponent's attacks.  He has an attack that I never mentioned in this chapter:  Data Siphon.  (It's the one he uses in the animation to keep the lava bombs from touching him.)  Basically, he sucks up his enemies' attack energy into his hand and then throws it right back at them.  That's an improvement on Shakkoumon's ability to suck up his opponent's attacks, and then not do anything with that energy.  His mace also reflects attacks, so his enemies had better beware!


	21. Chapter 20: We Have Ignition!

Chapter 20:  We Have Ignition!

            Takato wondered if Rika was the same as she'd been before she arrived on this world.  He knew it was a life-changing experience for _him_ to see baby-eating monsters prowling the streets.  But, then again, he figured that digimon suddenly becoming reality was another life-changer.  If he knew Rika, she would be too shy to give him a direct answer if he asked her how she was.  So he kept at the job of "seek patrol" and kept looking for people whom this horror had left to suffer from hunger and fear.  He wasn't finding any, and Guilmon couldn't pick up one whiff of human or digimon scent.

            His attention was broken as a downpour started without warning.  He, Rika, Guilmon, and Renamon all dashed into the shelter of a store that was nearby, panting and brushing the rainwater off themselves before it got a chance to soak in.

            "Well…I'm certainly glad they chose _today_ to put me on seek patrol," Rika spat.

            Takato pointed out, "Could be worse, Rika:  they didn't send us out without raingear."

            "True, but---"

            Renamon let out a disgusted snort:  she'd forgotten to listen to Mimi's warning not to get her dyed fur wet, and the cosmetic dye was running off the white spot on her fur!

            "Uh-oh…" Rika thought aloud.             

            " 'Uh-oh'?!  _This is a disaster_!  Mimi is going to have to reapply this!"

            "Calm down, Renamon," Takato insisted.  "If we're out here to save people from man-eating robots, then I don't think anyone will particularly care how nice you look---so long as you don't look like a menace machine.  Just put this on so it won't get any worse," he said as he handed Renamon a poncho from his knapsack.

            "But---this poncho is clear!"

            "So?"

            "He'll be able to see my white spot right through it!"

            " 'He'?  Who?" Guilmon asked.

            "……oooooooooooooh!" Takato cut in.  "I think I see why you're upset with a little fur blemish!"

            "**Shut up!**" Rika hissed.  "You wonder why I don't like having friends?  Well, here's another reason:  you get made fun of!"  Rika suddenly felt ashamed to have opened her mouth and expressed her lonely, shelled self.  She tried not to show it, but her face went a little flush, against her wishes.

            "But we're only joking around!" Takato said.

            " 'We'?  I don't know what you're talking about," Guilmon stammered.  "What's really going on here, Takatomon?"

            "It's not all that important," Renamon insisted.  "I'd say that finding people who have been lost in a thunderstorm is more important than this."

            They walked quite a bit more that day, and didn't find a soul, making the situation seem all the worse:  they hiked for kilometers in the rain without having done any good of _any_ kind.  Rika and Renamon were extremely frustrated by this, and Takato was too, but he didn't show it as much.  They were all dying for a hot shower at the end of the day, and the dampness and fatigue was enough to make Renamon forget---for a while---that she had a big, rectangular white spot on her fur, and that she had fur dye running down her leg in brown, caked-dry streaks.

            She plopped down on the sofa with a black cloud still hovering over her head and raining on her brain.  Davis was sitting next to her, not taking his eyes off the television set for one minute.  He asked, "A little wet out there?"

            Renamon snorted angrily.

            "My sentiments exactly.  Corn chips?"

            "No, thank you…I've lost my appetite."

            "Suit yourself.  By the way, what happened to your fur? Why is it all white?"

            Renamon's eyes bugged out like a pair of ping-pong balls as she realized that she had that ugly spot on her pelt.  A bead of sweat trickled down the back of her neck, and another drop joined it when she heard Hare entering the room.  She had nothing to cover her white spot with, and Hare saw the spot.  When Hare saw her embarrassed and guilty look, he realized that _this_ had been what she had been hiding from him:  her fur blemish.  He was furious and hurt that she refused to let him in on such a small secret as that!  …And the look of the blemish repulsed him, too; he had originally been attracted to Renamon's golden-colored fur.  After that, Hare was not on speaking terms with Renamon, making her day even worse.

            Rika wasn't very happy, herself:  all the clothes Yolei had gotten for her were clothes made for a girl.  They had things like "love" and "angel" and such stereotypically girly things written on them, and Rika was a tomboy to the core:  she hated those kinds of things.  But her cracked-heart blouse was drenched, and she'd had to put it through the laundry.  The only problem was that the laundry lost her cracked-heart blouse, so, for now, the poor young lady was stuck looking like a girl.  (The sentence I just wrote conveys such a _horror_!  "The poor young lady was stuck looking like a girl!"  Oh, _no_!  Call in the ACLU and the marine corp.!)

            So, Rika and Renamon were having a little talk in their room after that long, grueling day.  "You know, I think I was actually happier bleaching mildew off the walls of the janitor's closets than I was walking around in the pouring rain for no good reason!"

            "So was I," Renamon agreed.  "And it gets better:  Hare and I broke up."

            "What?!"

            "It's true:  Hare found out that I was hiding the white spot from him, and he was so angry that I didn't tell him that he broke up with me."

            Rika shook her head.  "You know, I've never been in love before, but I bet that it bites to get dumped."

            "It _does_.  I've never felt worse in my life!"

            Rika sighed angrily.  "So…did we do something _else_ to deserve getting punished like this?  I mean, why did we get promoted, anyway?"

******

            Matt was getting back up on his feet, again.  He still had scars, but he was recovering quickly---almost too quickly for Pixie to believe.

            "So…" Matt asked as Pixie was preparing another meal.  "What kind of digimon are you?"

            "Digimon?"

            "Yeah.  Aren't you a digimon?"

            "Uh…no.  Don't you mean 'pokémon'?"

            "No…I've never heard of a pokémon, before."

            "Join the club.  I only heard about pokémon a few weeks ago, myself."  There was another pair of long explanations, unnecessary to recount.  They left Pixie and Matt more confused, again.  "So if there are two---maybe three types of creature that I've never seen before…  Then what is this place?" Pixie asked.

            "I don't know.  I've never been in this city before, either," Matt admitted.  "I don't think this is even the same city that they caught me in."

            Pixie sighed.

            Big Blue nodded his agreement.  "It is a very grave situation, milady:  in an unknown and unfamiliar city with unknown creatures.  ---And some of them hostile."

            "No kidding."

            As Punimon just finished eating the chewable kid's vitamins that Pixie had given him, he squeaked, "**Punimon, digivolve to…Tsunomon!**"

            Pixie and Big Blue stared wide-eyed at the tiny digimon as he digivolved.

            "That's a digivolution," Matt explained.  "While they're this small, it happens when they get enough strength."

            "I see…" Pixie was still feeling overwhelmed.

            Matt walked over and tried to pick up Tsunomon, but his wounds reminded him of their presence.  He yelled in pain, and Pixie immediately picked Matt up and set him back down on his "bed".  "Listen," Pixie insisted, "You're not as recovered as you should be to move around so much."

            "I think you're right," Matt agreed with a groan.  He tasted the food, and Pixie could tell from his reaction that the food wasn't to his liking.

            "I'm sorry; I'm not used to cooking so much.  In fact, I hardly know anything about preparing food."

            Matt swallowed.  "It's better than starving.  Thanks for cooking it; I really owe you a lot for getting me off those chains---"

            "Don't even mention it."


	22. Chapter 21: This is Hurting Everyone

Chapter 21:  Man…This Is Hurting _Everyone_!

            Hare, Davis, and Ken were all on seek patrol, and they were trying a new part of Tokyo, this time.  So far, they hadn't found anyone, but they were trying… It was a monotonous silence that hovered between the five of them, and Davis felt he had to break it: "Say, Ken, I was just wondering…why do you keep that Digimon Emperor outfit on?  I mean, I thought you thought it was a symbol of everything bad you did as the Digimon Emperor."

            "For a while I thought so, yeah.  But this is bigger than symbols, and I'm not the Digimon Emperor, no matter what anyone says or thinks.  But this outfit is a little more functional than other clothes."

            "Example?"

            "You remember how Pegasusmon used that Mane Wind attack on me, and my cape deflected it?"

            "…I see.  Yeah, that is functional."

            "I bet it's a lot cozier in there when the weather gets bad," Wormmon cut in.

            "Well, it is insulated and waterproof.  That's another plus about it."

            "But what's with the whip?" Davis asked.

            "That?  …If there's anything we can use to defend ourselves with, we should try to use it."

            "If you say so."

            Hare suddenly stopped.  "Hello!"

            "What is it?"

            "I hear something…kind of like wings beating, but it's really fast…it's coming from…over there!!"

            They whirled about and looked:  there was a spiderstrike flying their way.

            "Aw, great!" Veemon muttered.            

            "Shall I?" Hare asked, pointing to the digi-egg of courage.

            "Might as well," Davis agreed, tossing him the egg.

            "**Hare, module-evolve to…Firabbit!**"

            The spiderstrike fired:  "Dar Kamna!"

            "Clinker Beam!"  The two shots cancelled each other out in the middle, but the spiderstrike was gaining ground:  the point where the two beams were canceling out slowly came closer and closer to Firabbit until the Dar Kamna ended up disabling Firabbit's cannon.  Looking at the mangled weapon, Firabbit muttered, "Aw, great!  …Plan B, then:  Bludgeon Blade!"  The three blades that adorned his right gauntlet extended into a long, sharp, club-like weapon.  Firabbit flew up into the air to face the spiderstrike.

            "Dar Kamna!"

            Firabbit stuck the blade between himself and the beam, and the beam reflected off the blade and away from the fight.  He wound up for a smack with his bludgeon, and he knocked the rotors off the spiderstrike's back.

            The spiderstrike instantly fell to the ground, but the fall wasn't enough to kill it:  "**Ferra-tor-cknii****, noh unukreshnaiona djom…Ferra-tor-grend'l!**"  The spiderstrike became a trio of saberstrikes.

            "Three of those, huh?  Doesn't scare me!"

            "Garem Non!" all three growled, firing blasts of sound at Firabbit.  He tried to deflect the shots with his bludgeon, but the shot went through the bludgeon like it wasn't even there.  The sonic blasts hit Firabbit in the stomach, and Firabbit suddenly felt sick.  He slowly descended to the ground.

            "_Ugh_!  ...That didn't go so well…"

            The saberstrikes had made the mistake of focusing all their attention on Firabbit:  Veemon and Wormmon were still free to attack.

            "Sticky net!" Wormmon shouted, immobilizing a pair of the saberstrikes.

            "Vee boomerang!"  Veemon hurled his shot and knocked the head off from the remaining saberstrike.

            "Quick, Firabbit!  Now's your chance!"

            Firabbit tried to shake off the feelings of nausea, and he picked up the stuck-together saberstrikes and dropped them form a lethal height.  Firabbit still looked a little dizzy as he landed and regressed back to Hare.

            "Are you okay?" Davis asked.

            "Not really, no."  Hare groaned.  "They hit me with some kind of attack that messes up your insides!  I feel like I'm about to vomit!"

            "Are you _really_ about to vomit?"

            "You never know, do you?"

            "Yeah, that's true; you don't."

            "Maybe some walking will help you work it off," Ken suggested.

            "Maybe…ugh!  I just hope we don't have to meet any more of those things!"

******

            "What made you think that we should come _here_?" June demanded.  The weather was anything but cooperative:  a cold wind whipped rain and mist at the two girls as they stood by the riverbank.  " 'The only place to get clean water,' you said.  Let's think about that:  does the word 'mud' mean anything to you?"

            Tina asked, "How was I supposed to know that the water here would look like chocolate?  And how was I supposed to guess that the weather would turn icky?"

            "What're you talking about, 'icky'?" Tibemon asked.                            

            "You _know _what we mean," June insisted.  "And look at this river now!  It's at flood stage, and the water looks like coffee!  I wouldn't drink that unless I was dying of thirst, and if I were dying of thirst, I'd just tilt my head back, open my mouth, and grab a couple hundred liters!  And besides---" June let out a yelp of surprise as she saw the water licking at the heels of her work boots.  "The river is _rising_!  Nobody in their right mind would stick around!  …Tina, that's our cue to beat it!"

            "Hey, you're right.  But that water is rising too fast for just the rain to account for…so…what's causing this?"

            "I don't know!  Let's get out of here!"

            The two girls scurried away from the rising, mocha tide.  They had no trouble outrunning the water, but it was shocking how fast it was rising.

            "Okay, there is _no_ way that this can be natural," June spat.  "There has _got_ to be something artificial at work, here, like a dam, or something!"

            "But if civilization as-we-know-it is gone, then who would be able to build a dam to block the river?"

            The two girls looked at each other, and it occurred to them that the faceless enemy who had caused all this might be the same party that had built the dam.  They raced downstream to find out where the dam was and what to do about it.  They saw a collection of boxy-shaped menace machines, stacking themselves higher and higher and wider and wider to continue blocking the flooding river.  There were only a handful of spots in the dam where water spurted out, and the machines were no doubt converting the water pressure into hydroelectric power to further fuel their attack on the river.

            "If they keep this up, they'll send the flow of the water straight through downtown Tokyo!" June shouted over the storm.

            "And look at what it's doing to the forest!" Tina pointed out.  There was a young deer that was sitting stranded on an island in the rising river.  Tina's heart was too big to let that deer drown:  she approached the bank and waded into the fast-moving water.  It is not a good thing to be in fast-moving water to above your knees:  she immediately began to lose her footing in the muck.

            Youngdramon flew past her:  "Polymer coil!" she shouted, letting a trail of duct tape fly into Tina's hands.  Tina grasped the tape and pulled herself onto the dry ground with the fawn.  The fawn was very confused, and almost as afraid of Tina and Youngdramon as it was of the water.

            Tina slowly crept up to the fawn.  "Easy, little guy…no one's going to hurt you…"

            The fawn let out a cry for its mother as Tina gently stroked its fur.  There was no answer; the mother had already succumbed to the menace machine's plot of destruction.  Tina kept stroking the fur of the fawn, trying to calm it down.

            "Aw…isn't this just like a scene from a tree hugger's movie?" Youngdramon crooned.

            "Bigger problem!" June shouted, pointing to an approaching catamarine.

            "**Youngdramon, digivolve to…Ikudramon!**"

            "**Tibemon, digivolve to…Savamon!**"

            "That thing is almost as strong as a mega!" June yelled.  "We need to DNA digivolve before we have a _hope_ of taking it on!"

            "Our digivices need to touch to do that!  Either you're going to have to come here, or I'm going to have to come over there!  And I can't move this poor animal!"

            "Then I think _I'd_ better move the poor animal!" Ikudramon yelled, looking at a wave of water that was flying down the river at them.  The fawn screamed as Ikudramon scooped up it and Tina and set them down beside June.

            June fished a blanket and a poncho out of her knapsack and covered the fawn with them to keep it warm.  "Don't worry, little guy…you'll be fine…"

            "He won't if we don't DNA digivolve!" Savamon pointed out.

            "Oh---right."

            "**Ikudramon!**"

            "**Savamon!**"

            "**DNA digivolve to…Mermon!**"

            "Go get 'em, Mermon!" Tina shouted.

            June began to see why Tina was so attached to the fawn:  she had to admit it was one of the cutest things she'd ever seen.  Of course, cuteness wasn't the biggest of their concerns right then:  a giant, robotic, lava-spouting panther was much more important.

            Mermon tried the same tactics Swampangemon had used:  she shot the joints in the legs and the head with her missiles, but it just didn't seem to hurt the catamarine.  The problem wasn't getting any prettier:  June, Tina, and their little rescued hostage had to keep moving uphill to stay ahead of the rising water.

            Mermon wondered if the catamarine was the real threat, after all:  the dam began firing strong beams of yellow energy her way.  It wasn't long before it occurred to her:  use the dam's firepower on the catamarine!  She flew down close to the dam and brandished her ax.  "Come on!  Shoot me!" she shouted to the robotic dam, not expecting it to understand her.

            "Ota Kamna!" it shouted at her.

            "Mer Poleax!" she shouted back, reflecting the beam off her axe and into the catamarine's head.  That did it:  the catamarine began to look dizzy, and it only took a couple more missiles to finish it off.  There was still the issue of dealing with the dam, though…

            "Ota Kamna!"  A multitude of beams shot from the top of the dam and flew at Mermon.  Not one landed a hit, as Mermon was a very slippery fish, but the beams forced her to dive underwater, into the lake that was quickly forming.  Big mistake:  the water was swarming with creatures the like of which she'd never seen.  In fact, she _never_ saw them, because the water was so murky that she couldn't see more than a meter away.  Green balls of energy flew at her from the cloudy, chocolate mess below, so she immediately flew up out of the water towards Tina, June, and the fawn.

            "This place is getting too warm for my tastes!" Mermon shouted over the storm and the shots that were ringing out.  "I need to fly you guys out of here!"

            "How can you take both us and the fawn?!"

            "I can't!  You'll have to leave it!"

            "No!"  "You can't leave the poor girl out here in---" "How can you even think about leaving this poor little thing where she'll get eaten---"

            Mermon spat, "It's either you or an animal!  What makes you think that---"  
            "But she's so little!  What'll happen if---" "It's mother is _gone_!  It's just like any orphan that we're always finding in the cities!  It's our duty to---" "Look at her!  She's lonely, cold, wet, afraid---"

            Mermon stifled the conversation:  "Okay!  O-_kay_…!  …So…which one of you two wants to get left behind for the return trip?"

            June held her tongue:  she didn't want to be left out in the pouring rain any longer than necessary.  Tina, however, wasn't so quiet:  she said, "I'll stay behind."

            Mermon had originally meant for her previous question to be a psychological trick to talk them into leaving the fawn behind, but Tina was too outgoing and had too big a heart to allow the fawn to be left out where it wasn't safe.  Mermon felt defeated.

            "Don't worry about me!" Tina insisted.  "The visibility out here is _zero_.  There is no way that any of them are going to see me, hear me, or smell me.  And it'll be easy to find a place to hide in these woods.  ---One that the water won't get to, I mean."

            "Your parents are going to kill us for this," Mermon thought aloud.

            "No kidding," June agreed.  She unclipped her umbrella from her wrist pad and handed it to Tina.  "There's no way I could use it in mid-flight, anyway."

            "Thanks."

            As Mermon flew away with June and the whimpering, confused fawn tucked under her arms, she said, "I just _know_ that we're going to regret this.  Leaving a girl defenseless in a hurricane while there are man-eating monsters and a rising river?"

            "Wouldn't sound like a good idea to me, either," June admitted, "But the alternative is to leave this poor, defenseless creature there!"

            "I'm sure Yolei would rather hear about an animal dying than her own daughter."

            "Do you have to keep calling that poor, confused little girl 'an animal'?"

            "Well, isn't that what it is?"

            "…Okay, it is, but still---!  You don't have to make her sound worthless!"

            Mermon sighed.  "You know, I really wish this weren't a democracy, and that I could've decided this instead of you and Tina.  This is just _not_ a good plan!"

            Mermon was more right than either of them thought _or_ hoped:  Just as Tina was about to crawl into a hole beneath a tree stump to take shelter, she heard the growl of a hungry saberstrike behind her…

GAZRIITOR:

Nickname: Tor-bine (Tōrubain)  
Real Name: Enib-tor-oide  
Caste: Weroh Gazrii  
Modes: One  
Special Attacks:  
Dar Grimn F'  
Comments:  
The tor-bine is a specially designed menace machine: an army of this type stacks itself into a huge dam to block a river and flood an area, not to mention generate hydroelectric power for other machines. It has firepower between the champion and ultimate levels, but has very little along the line of defense; it wouldn't take much to destroy one. Theoretically, the tor-bine could use its turbine to fly, but this has never been seen. 

GAZRIITOR:

Nickname: Hover Dam (Hābedām)  
Real Name: Enib-tor-tejah  
Caste: Weroh Gazrii  
Modes: One  
Special Attacks:  
Ota Kamna  
Comments:  
The hover dam is the combination of any number of tor-bines. It generates hydroelectric power by allowing water to flow out of a few of its turbines. It can control the flow of water through a river, and can allow a great deal of water to flow, or none at all. Its firepower rivals that of mega digimon, although it can only fire from the top. 


	23. Chapter 22: Trouble with a Capital T

Chapter 22:  Trouble With a Capital T

            Matt was recovering a _lot_ better than Pixie had thought he would.  Already, his wounds were now no more than scars on his wrists and hands---albeit deep scars.  His finger movements were a little wobbly, but those were getting better, too.

            Pixie sighed.  "Now that you're on your feet, I don't see why you'd need our help anymore."

            Matt nodded his agreement.  "Yeah.  Thanks again for rescuing me from that chain-torture.  I don't know what would've happened if you hadn't---"

            "Don't mention it," Pixie insisted.  "In my life, I've…had some people make some big sacrifices for me without asking for anything in return."

            "Me too," Matt thought aloud to himself.  "But where are you planning on going?"

            "We don't know.  But---"

            There was a loud explosion, and part of the roof of the store caved in.  When the smoke cleared, a pair of catamarines and a flock of queuebes were outside.

            "Uh-oh," Pixie thought to herself.  "Big Blue, I think we have a problem…"

            "Get behind me, milady.  You and Matt may be able to escape alive---"

            "We've got a better chance of making it if we fight them!  They have us cornered!  Lightning!" Pixie shouted, hurling a blob of energy at a catamarine.  It smacked the shoulder and did little more than knock it backwards.

            "Milady, if we---"

            Gary's voice cut Big Blue off:  "Gyarados, Arcanine, Nidoking, go!"  A trio of big-looking, angry pokémon jumped out and snarled at the menace machines.  "Arcanine, Fire blast!  Nidoking, Gyarados, Hyper Beam!"  The three charged up their attacks and fired at one of the queuebes.  The fire was enough to disable one of the solar panels and then the beams were then free to damage the queuebe without being absorbed.  The queuebe shattered.

            "♪♫Gary, Gary, he's our man!  If he can't save the world, no one can! ♫" the cheerleaders shouted in unison.

            "That's right!" Gary added with a smirk.

            Pixie stared at Gary like he was crazy.  She looked at Matt as if to ask, "Are people with such a blown-up image of themselves common on this planet?"

            Matt shook his head.  He shouted to Gary, "You'd better be careful!  Those things and their masters are _very_ dangerous!"

            "Yeah, sure," Gary muttered.

            "Y'nura Dar!" the queuebes shouted, firing red beams of destruction at the three pokémon.  Each one was knocked for a loop.  Gary gulped.

            Matt looked at Gabumon.  "Time for us to do our thing!"

            "It's been a while, hasn't it?"

            "With time messed up, who can tell?"

            "**Gabumon, warp-digivolve to…Metalgarurumon!**"  Metalgarurumon was different:  he had warp engines on his wings and looked faster and sleeker than he had before.  "Time to test this form out!  Pixie, Big Blue!  Back me up!"  Metalgarurumon flew out of the store with weapons blazing.

            "Hey, Gary!" Matt shouted.  "We could use your help out there!"

            "Oh…right!  Fearow, use Sky Attack!  Jolteon, use Thunder!"

            The queuebes didn't last long at all against Metalgarurumon's missiles and the combined attacks of the pokémon and Pixie.  The catamarines weren't so easy to defeat, however.

            "Arcanine!  Use Fire spin on those big lion-things!"  Arcanine blew a huge tornado of fire at one of the catamarines.  The fire left black ash marks on the outer paneling of the catamarine, but it didn't seem to damage it.

            "Tuli Dra Jalnor!" it answered, throwing a downpour of lava back at Arcanine.  Arcanine had to turn and run to dodge away from the blast.  When he turned around to look at what the attack had done, a lake of magma was hissing and burning at the asphalt on the road.

            "Now _that's_ a fire-type!" Gary thought aloud.  "I've got to get my hands on one of those!  Pokéball, go!" he shouted, hurling a pokéball at a catamarine's leg.  Strangely, the pokéball managed to capture the catamarine without resistance.  There was an incoherent scream of joy from the cheerleaders, followed by a "♪♫Gary can catch anything!  Everyone, jump up and sing! ♫"

            As she dodged a spurt of lava, Pixie muttered, "I don't feel like singing, at this very moment."

            "Milady!" Big Blue shouted.  The catamarine was using its wrecking-ball tail as a weapon, and it smacked Pixie on the back.  She went flying straight towards the burning lake of lava…

******

            Tina was stunned:  it might have been a better idea to let the fawn die, after all.  The saberstrike was smacking its lips, ready to turn Tina into another nameless, half-eaten cadaver, and it was approaching her with all speed.

            Suddenly, a whistle came from Tina's overalls pocket.  One of the buttons of her raincoat snapped open, and Joey popped out with one of the gremlin's weapons in his paws.  Joey fired, and a white beam shot out the muzzle and smacked the saberstrike on the face.  The saberstrike groaned and collapsed, dead.

            "…Joey?!"

            Joey let out an inquisitive squeak.

            "How did you do that?  Was that your special attack?"

            "Joey thought _non otawawo_ would come handy."

            " 'Non otawawo?'  What's a non otawawo?"

            "Thing Joey hurt _ferra-tor-grend'l_ with."

            "Ferra-tor-grend'l?  You're using a whole bunch of words Tina doesn't understand!"

            Joey snorted.  "Two Tinas use words _Joey_ no understand!"

            "Two Tinas sorry."

            "Joey not know how tell Tina what words mean.  _Ferra-tor-grend'l_ is sleeping digimon on ground that Joey hurt.  _Non otawawo_ is thing Joey has.  Hurt _ferra-tor-grend'l_ with."

            Tina decided to move to another area, hoping to find other shelter, far from the wreckage of the "_ferra-tor-grend'l_".  She said, "Joey should go back to bed.  No want fur get wet; no want get rash."

            "G'night!" Joey whistled, crawling back into the pocket.

            Tina found another hole and crawled inside.  She looked over her condition.  Her raincoat and gloves were slick with a film of rainwater.  Her overalls were drenched, and her legs were feeling a little too cold for comfort.  She rubbed her elbows and searched for a blanket in her backpack.  It was a while before she heard the cry of, "Tina!" from Mermon.  Tina dashed outside and waved.

            Mermon flew down.  "_There_ you are!  Don't you worry me like that again by disappearing!"

            Tina jumped into Mermon's arms.  "C'mon.  Let's hurry back to base; I need to take a warm shower and get some dry clothes on!"

            "You must be freezing!"

            "Not really.  It's a little _uncomfortable_ to be this cold, but I'm managing."

            "You _do _know that your mom will kill us for this, don't you?"

            "Well…okay, we'll probably be taken off seek patrol, but then what'll we get?  We'll end up with a job as orphanage supervisors, right?  I like that job just as much as seek patrol, anyways."


	24. Chapter 23: The Strom That Brews

NOTE:  There is some Christian content in this chapter---actually, it's a pretty small amount.  In fact, it's really, really small:  so small that, taken out of context, you could mistake it for Zoroastrian content.  It's not meant to be Zoroastrian, but the mistake could still be made.  So I'm just warning you.

Chapter 23:  The Storm That Brews

            Davis and Veemon pushed at the warehouse door with all their might.  Its rusty hinges complained loudly, but finally began to give.  The door opened just a crack at first.  Then a little more, and a little more, until it was finally open enough for a human being to squeeze through.  Davis stepped inside and looked around.  There was nothing but darkness in the warehouse, so he couldn't see anything…but he felt like he was being watched.  "Hello?" he asked.  His eyes began adjusting to the darkness, and he saw a multitude of little points of light.  As his eyes became even more adjusted, he saw that the points of light were eyes, and they were intently watching at him.  There was a dozen or more young children in the warehouse, ages ranging from six to twelve, and they were all looking sickly and underfed.  There were also a few baby, in-training, and rookie digimon spotting the crowd, and it looked as though the digimon had been catching a few rats or small birds for the children to eat.

            "What happened to you guys?" Davis asked, although he thought he knew the answer.

            None of the children was brave enough to speak up.  One of the younger children sniffled, and then a few more sobs broke out.

            Davis flushed.  "Ken!  Wormmon! Hare!  Jackpot!" he shouted.  He set his backpack on the ground, and began fishing out food, blankets, ponchos, bandages, and anything else to help the kids realize that he wasn't there to hurt them.  Wormmon, Ken and Hare arrived, and they only seemed to scare the children even more.

            "Are you sure this is the jackpot?" Hare asked.  "If this is what you call good, I'd hate to see what's bad!"

            "Will you pipe down and get out some food before these kids die of malnutrition?!" Davis insisted.

            One of the older kids---and, apparently, the assumed leader of the pack, stepped forward and asked, "Wha---what do you want with us?"

            "The original plan was to get you out of here and take you to the orphanage."

            "The orphanage?"  She swallowed.  "You're…you don't look like Red Cross workers, to me."

            "It's not like we're officially humanitarian workers.  But nothing's official on planet Earth, anymore."

            "Then…"  She was trying to decide whether she should trust them or not.  "Why are you helping us?"

            "Because we can.  We're _supposed_ to help other people, we're Digidestined," Davis answered.

            "Digidestined??" she asked.  "There's…how can that be?  I mean, it's too good to be true, it's…"

            "It _is_ true," Davis insisted.  He held up his digivice.

            "But that digivice was in a museum in Tokyo!  I saw it only a few months ago!"

            "I know; the army took it out of the museum and gave it back to me."

            "Why?"

            "They thought I'd need it, and they were right.  So…are you coming back with us to the orphanage?"

            After looking at the other children, she slowly realized that they didn't have much choice but to risk going with these boys back to the orphanage.  The alternative was to slowly starve to death.  And the two boys looked like they were Digidestined, and they were loaded down with humanitarian gear.  "We'll come along with you," she said at last, hoping she wouldn't regret the decision later.

            "It's kind of a long walk from here.  Can you make it?"

            "I don't think some of the younger ones can," she answered solemnly.  "So, unless someone can carry them…"

            Davis and Ken looked at each other, and then at Veemon and Wormmon.  All the while, Hare was looking at the two of them, hoping that he wouldn't end up needing to carry all the children.  He didn't.

            Paildramon ran down the street with the children in his folded arms.  He figured that the sooner he got to the power plant, the less likely it would be that he would run into bad weather or any menace machines.  Unfortunately, he heard the telltale whooping of headhunters on his six.  He was too weighted down to fly, and his hands weren't free to use his desperado blasters…

******

            Yolei stared at Tina and June with her mouth wide open:  "You deliberately left behind Tina so that you could do _what_?!"

            "Rescue a fawn."

            "A what?"

            "There was a baby deer caught out in the floodwater.  We had to get her out of there and Mermon couldn't carry all three of us at the same time."

            Yolei sighed angrily.  "You were ready to jeopardize a sentient person for the sake of an animal?!"

            "Mom, I---!"

            Yolei interrupted, "You just can't _do_ that!  In the future, when you see an animal in danger, remember that, when it comes to an animal's death versus your own death, your life is worth more than an animal's!"

            Tina looked down.  She walked just outside the office and came back a second later, holding a taught rope.  The rope was tied around the fawn's neck, and Tina pulled the fawn into the room.  The fawn was taking in her surroundings with uncertain, timid eyes.  "Mom, we aren't the only living things God put on this planet.  Look at her.  Look into her eyes."  Yolei slowly stepped forward.  Her own weakness for animals that she had had at Tina's age was rekindled as she gently stroked the little creature's fur.  "Can't you see that there's a personality and a life in there?  She's scared, confused, and out of place‑‑‑just like every digimon and human out there.  Animals are victims of these menace machines, too, Mom.  If it's our duty to take care of the digimon and people, then the animals are our responsibility, too."

            Yolei sighed.  She was stirred by Tina's speech.  "Tina, you have a big heart---and I don't want to see it get you killed."

            "If I get killed out there, I'm dying for the right reasons."

            Yolei was cut to the quick.  As much as she wanted not to show it her intense fear and sadness for her daughter, she could not hide the wavering in her voice as she said, "I don't want you out there on seek patrol any more.  You and June are both going to be orphanage supervisors."  Yolei tried to mask a sob with a cough.  She continued, "As for the dam you found, I'll send Blackwargreymon to deal with it.  He's a mega; he should be able to destroy it."

            Tina looked down at the ground.  She had half a mind to say, "That's very selfish of you, Mom.  I'm not just your baby; I'm a Digidestined, and I'm just as important out there as you, or Kari, or Davis, or anyone else."  But she held her tongue, nodded, and went back to her room to change out of her wet clothes.

            Rika was inside, and she was still brooding over how rain had ruined her and Renamon's outing a little while before.  She looked at Tina's drenched condition and asked, "What happened to you?"

            "And what digimon did you find?" Renamon asked.  "I can smell that you were with some creature that I've never seen before."

            "Not a digimon.  A baby deer.  It was the sweetest thing you've ever seen."

            "Yeah, right," Rika groaned, turning the other way.

            "What is it with you and cute?" Youngdramon asked.

            "I just don't like it!"

            "Then why are you wearing a blouse covered in smiling teddy bears?" Youngdramon asked.

            "Because it's all I have that's clean.  My normal blouse got lost in the laundry."

            "Oh."

            "So…I've had rotten days ever since I was promoted back up to seek patrol."

            Tina cut in, "Well, if you want to get demoted without getting punished _too_ badly, I'll tell you how.  First, you have to be the daughter of the top paperwork executive in the power plant.  Next, do something she thinks is unwise and that makes you look so incompetent that you'll probably get killed.  Your mother will then demote you to orphanage supervisor because she doesn't want you taking risks."

            "That happened to you?" Rika asked.

            "Yeah.  A saberstrike almost ate me while Mermon was flying the fawn away from danger.  She had to leave me behind because she couldn't carry June, the fawn, _and_ me all at the same time.  She came back and got me afterwards."

            "How did you avoid getting eaten?  Did you outrun the saberstrike?"

            "No, actually, Joey killed it."

            Rika's eyebrow went up.  "Joey?"

            An inquisitive squeak rose from Tina's overalls pocket.  Joey poked his head out.

            Rika's mouth dropped open:  this was too repulsively cute for her to handle.  "What is that?"

            "We're guessing he's a baby digimon.  I found him outside my house, one cold autumn night," Tina shone the room's desk lamp under her face to create a scary mood, "When the wind was thick with mists of rain, the sky was black, and there was thunder, and lightning…" she jiggled the light switch, and Youngdramon made low roaring noises to simulate thunder.

            Rika stared at them blankly. Tina and Youngdramon slowly stopped their storm demonstration.

            "…Anyhow, I couldn't just leave him there.  So he stays with me.  Anyhow, he somehow must've gotten an APPEP ray gun, or something."

            "_Non otawawo_," Joey corrected.

            "Whatever.  Anyway, he shot that saberstrike---"

            "_Ferra-tor-grend'l_," Joey corrected.

            "---**_whatever_**, he shot it and it died before it got me."

            "I see…and, how come he uses those weird words for the menace machines and ray guns?  What kind of digimon is he, anyways?"  Rika extended her D-Arc towards Joey, and the D-Arc didn't pick up a data signal at all.  It didn't even say, "no available information."  The screen was completely blank.  "Weird," Rika thought aloud.

            "Just like everything else here."  Tina sighed.  "Ever since I talked Mom into getting you promoted, everything seems to be going downhill."

            Rika and Renamon simultaneously shouted to her, "_What??!!_"         

            "I think you blew your cover, Tina," Youngdramon observed.

            "I want some revenge for this!" Rika shouted.  "Somebody get _me_ some duct tape!"

******

            Blackwargreymon flew in low, almost skirting the water over the dangerously low river.  He could see where the water had been on the banks before the dam was built.  There was at least two meters missing---maybe two and a half.  Blackwargreymon didn't concern himself so much with how bad the problem was:  he was more interested in the solution.  _I'll be able to see how bad things have been after this is over.  Chances are---since I came from __Tokyo__ and didn't see water on the way---I'm nowhere **near** too late to stop this_.

            He was right, but there was something odd:  a strange column of energy floated up from the lake that was forming behind the dam.  "What on earth is that?" Blackwargreymon wondered as the dam came in sight.

            His concentration broke as a yellow beam of energy narrowly missed him.  "Terra Destroyer!" he shouted back, hurling a pair of fireballs at the dam's top.  Water burst out of the two bite marks in the dam and spilled into the river below.  "Now, for the rest of it---Black Tornado!"  He hurled his own body into the dam claws-first, and the dam broke.  The dam disintegrated into tor-bines, each of which fired bursts of energy at Blackwargreymon.

            Blackwargreymon took his wing panels off and made them into a shield to defend himself from the tor-bines' revenge-crazed fire.  He looked at the column of energy behind his back.  "What is that thing?  Is it their doing?"

            One of the tor-bines' attacks flew into the column, and the column looked like it was…destabilizing, somehow.  After another beam flew in, the column vanished without a trace.

            "Why would they fire on their own device?  Hmm…"  The attacks from the tor-bines seemed to abate, so he replaced his wing panels and flew after them.  "If you aren't destroyed, you'll just try to build another dam.  Black Tornado!"  Blackwargreymon swept the rest of the machines up into the air and destroyed them.

            "Now…to report a job well done to Yolei."

******

            "Ash---!"

            "Pikachu, thunderbolt!"  Pikachu fried the saberstrike in its tracks.  Ash glanced around to make sure the saberstrike had been alone.  There was nothing else in sight.  "Thanks, Pikachu."

            "Pi-KA!"  Pikachu made a salute and jumped back onto Ash's shoulder.

            "Ash, that's the third attack we've had today!"

            "Attack?  What are you talking about, 'attack'?  Those machines didn't get the chance to throw _one_ attack at us before you noticed them and Pikachu thrashed 'em!"

            "But Ash…"

            "A little worried, Misty?"

            "No!  I mean…well…"

            Ash rolled his eyes:  he almost felt ashamed of her worrying.  "Misty, if you're scared to be out here, then---"

            "Ash, these things are _eating people_!  Don't you think a little worry is called-for?"

            "…Okay, maybe a little…unless you spot one of these things before they spot you."

            "But what happens if we don't?"

            "Misty…that kind of pessimism will get us killed."

            Misty sighed.  After a short pause, Misty asked, "Ash…do you hear that?"

            "Yeah, I do…"  The noise didn't sound like the smacking chops of a saberstrike, nor did it sound like thunder.  It was something far different, like the woosh of a train or something the like…

            "Over there!" Misty shouted, pointing at something gray in the distance.

            "What is that?"

            "It looks like a fog rolling in," Misty answered.  "But it doesn't sound like one…"

            There was a short pause as they watched the incoming rush of white, foamy water.

            "You think we ought to go inside?" Ash asked.

            Misty nodded, and the two of them raced into a nearby building.  The water rushed into the streets behind them, and began to flood into the building, too.  "Upstairs!" Misty yelled.  The water licked at their heels as they raced up a flight of stairs.  The water seemed to be chasing them, almost as if it were alive.  They kept climbing, and---for a minute, at least---they seemed to be outrunning the tide.  But then they came to a door at the top of the stairs that they found was locked.  The water raced after them, caught up to them, and rose to about waist-level.

            Misty let out a small yelp.  "This water's freezing!"

            "Yeah, I know," Ash agreed, pulling a flashlight out of his backpack.  "I wonder if Primape can punch through that lock and get us out…huh?"  The water around them began to change temperature very quickly, going from cold to warm and back very suddenly and repeatedly.

            "Hurry up, Ash!  I don't know whether I'll boil or freeze if we stay here, but I don't want to do either!"

            "Primeape, go!  See if you can't open this door!"  Primeape didn't even try to knock the doorknob off; he went for the entire door:  the doorknob was the only thing left.  "…Uh, thanks, Primeape…return!"

            He and Misty continued their trek up the stairs, and made it away from the water.

            "That was scary!" Misty said.

            "I know.  How do you think a flood would affect the power plant?"

            "Hard to say.  Those reactors would have to be airtight to keep out radiation, so they'd probably keep water out."

            "I hope so."

            Pikachu felt glad he had a shoulder to sit on that was tall enough so that the water never touched it.  He shook off his fur, and there was no moisture whatsoever in it.

            "Oh, quit bragging!" Ash muttered as he searched his knapsack for a towel.  "And if I was going to…huh?  Uh, Misty…weren't we dripping wet a second ago?"

            "Yeah…"

            "So how come we aren't, now?"

            "…Good question…"

            They looked down the staircase they had just come up, and there wasn't a drop of water anywhere…no indication that there had ever been a flood at all.

            "Well…at least the weirdness works in our favor, this time," Ash said.

            "Yeah…great…"

            Pikachu suddenly let out a hiss.

            "What is it?"

            "Ka chu…_pika_..."

            "A Ghastly?  Here?  But…this planet doesn't have any pokémon on it!"

            "Ka chu!" Pikachu answered.

            "GAAAAAAA!!!"  The shout came from behind them.

            "Whoa!" Ash shouted as he dodged a blast of Night Shade.  "Pikachu, thundershock it!"  Pikachu's bolt fried the Ghastly, and it faded into nothingness.

            "Is it gone?"

            "Good question.  But I know that we ought to get out of here if there's going to be ghost pokémon around."

            "You don't suppose that whole flood was just one of Ghastly's hypnotic tricks to scare us away, do you?"

            "Pi ka," Pikachu answered, shaking his head.

            "You didn't smell him until just now?  …Huh.  Well, I'd sure like to---"

            There was a roar outside.

            "That…doesn't sound so good," Misty said.

            "Let's check it out."

            "Ash, this is too dangerous for you to---"

            "Save it, Misty!  It's our _job_ to check out the weird stuff!  Come on!"

            Misty reluctantly followed.

            They found a clutch of saberstrikes…and half of the saberstrikes were already scrap metal.  The other half was quickly becoming scrap metal, at the hands of a huge, menacing Tyranitar.

            "Oh, boy!  I've got to get my hands on this guy!"

            "You're…you're going to try to _catch_ this thing?"

            "Sure!  It's a wild pokémon, look," Ash explained, pulling his Pokédex out of his pocket.

            "Tyranitar, the armor pokémon.  A combination rock- and dark-type, it is very powerful and dangerous when provoked."

            Misty gulped.  "I'm in no more rush to get killed by a tyranitar than a saberstrike!  Let's get out of here---"

            "Misty, you're forgetting one thing!"

            "What's…that?"

            "Rock and dark are bother vulnerable to fighting-types, and this guy should be easy for Primeape to handle!  Primeape, whittle this guy's hit points 'til I can catch him!"

            "Ash, no!"


	25. Chapter 24: The Soap Opera Begins to Foa...

NOTE: Content exists in this chapter that is religious and may offend some people.

Chapter 24:  The Soap Opera Begins to Foam

            So…that was just the way that things were:  Rika and Renamon were still on seek patrol, and Tina and Youngdramon were orphanage supervisors.  Rika didn't particularly like that setup, but she stuck to her job.  In some ways, it was better than being cooped up in the nuclear power plant all day.

            She, Renamon, Takato, Guilmon, and Tiger were out on seek patrol again.  She sighed as they walked along.  "So…where do you think we should try, today?"

            "I dunno…but _definitely_ someplace drier than the last time," Takato suggested.

            "Right---what _hasn't_ been done yet?"

            "My guess would be that areas around other nuke plants might not have been tried yet.  Let's go there."

            "Isn't that a kind of a long walk?"

            "We'll survive.  C'mon."

            They kept walking, and snow slowly began to fall from the sky.  Takato looked up, and the sky completely blue:  there wasn't one cloud.  "Huh---weird!"

            "No kidding," Rika agreed.  "But, to me, it's a lot better than rain!"

            "Maybe," Takato agreed.  He pulled a blanket out of his backpack and wrapped it around himself.  "Hey---aren't you going to wear a blanket?"

            "I---I'm not that cold."

            Takato shrugged.  "Suit yourself."  But, after a short while, it was apparent that the cold _did_ bother Rika quite a bit.  She didn't realize it, but she was hugging her elbows and shivering.  "Rika, I think you really ought to wear a blanket."

            "Shut _up_, Takato!  I didn't ask for your input!"

            "Sorry...I'd rather throw in my two cents than see you freeze, Rika."

            "_Hmmp_!" Rika grunted and put on one of the blankets that she was carrying.  She stared at Takato darkly, as if to ask, "_Now_ are you happy?"

            "Rika, what is it with you and having anything good happen?  You won't have friends and you'd rather freeze than be seen dead wearing a blanket.  What's with you?"

            "My problems aren't your business."

            Takato decided to quit pestering Rika:  he knew he wouldn't get anywhere with her.

            As time wore on, they found a clustered group of families, living in the subways about a kilometer from another nuke plant.  Takato was just shouting that the machines wouldn't go near the nuke plants to the families when they heard a whirring sound behind their backs.

            "Aw, great!  Here we go again!" Takato moaned.  He tossed Rika a mod-card:  "I've got an extra digivolution card; use it!  **…Digi-modify!  Digivolution, activate!**"

            "**Guilmon, digivolve to…Growlmon!**"

            Rika swiped the other digivolution card through her D-Arc, too:  "**Digi-modify!  Digivolution, activate!**"

            "**Renamon, digivolve to…Rufusmon!**"  Rufusmon was a large, red fox with several tails.  She had a big, blue bow tied around her neck, and had copper-colored fur.

            "Throw me the digi-egg of friendship!" Tiger shouted.  "**Tiger, module-evolve to…Thunderdog!**  Jacob's Ladder!" he yelled, firing a pair of electric bolts into one of the tor-mites.

            "Pyroblaster!" Growlmon yelled, spitting fire at another tor-mite.  It took a few seconds, but the flames from his attack managed to char and disable a tor-mite.

            "Magnesium Conflagration!" Rufusmon fired a hailstorm of bullet-sized fireballs at the hole where the tor-mites were emerging.  "This just isn't working, Rika!" Rufusmon shouted.  "Thunderdog is the only one of us with enough firepower!"

            "That's about to change! **Digi-modify! Upgrade, activate!**"

            Rufusmon felt her firepower increase as the card went through the slot on Rika's D-Arc.  Her flames began to melt down the tor-mites, not to mention bring some well-needed warmth to the subway.

            The tor-mites didn't last long against the three fighters.  And the digivolutions were enough to convince the refugees in the subway that these were Digidestined that they were dealing with, so they had another cartload of people to bring back safely.  Growlmon and Rufusmon carried some of the weaker refugees on their backs, and they surprisingly little trouble returning to the nuke plant.

            Tiger mused on the way back, "You know, it seems like I'm the only one without a fire attack in this group."

            "You might be," Rufusmon answered.

            Tiger chuckled.  "Actually, I have a few ice attacks up my…sleeve…"  Tiger stopped talking because---for the first time---he took a good look at Rufusmon.  He had been too focused during the battle to look at her, but, now that he saw her, his face went flush:  she looked to him like the most beautiful creature on four legs.

            Rufusmon knew that look, and knew immediately that Tiger was in love with her.  She still felt the wounds from having been in a broken relationship with Hare, but she wondered if she wouldn't be able to learn to love Tiger…

******

            "Aw, great!" Davis yelled as he heard the whooping of a group of headhunters on their tail.  "Isn't there _any_ way we can fight back?"

            "I'm still too low on energy to module-evolve," Hare yelled back.  "I don't think I could take them!"

            "Relax, guys!  There's another option:  **Paildramon, mode-change to…Stealth mode!**"  Immediately, Paildramon became invisible, along with the children he was carrying in his arms.  It was strange not to be able to see yourself or the person next to you, but it allowed them to see the headhunters behind them through Paildramon's chest.  The headhunters hesitated, scratched their heads, and began doing some strange sort of dance that made them slowly rotate 360°.

            "What're they doing?" Ken asked.

            "Who cares?  They aren't following us, are they?" Davis pointed out.

            "Davis, that's my mouth!  Get your hand out of there!" Hare shouted.

            "Sorry!  I couldn't see what that was; I was just trying to keep my balance!"

            It wasn't long before they made it to the nuke plant.  There were Henry and Willis at the entrance, ready to receive the new incomers.  "Whoa," Henry remarked.  "How did this happen?"

            The leader of the young children answered, "We don't know.  We just woke up in our apartment building, and none of us could remember where our parents were or of we even had any.  Then those machines came---they ate half of the littler ones, because we couldn't carry all of them, and they couldn't keep up---"  She let out something that seemed like a cross between a sigh and a sob.

            Henry's Terriermon muttered under his breath, "You know, I've always been curious about how human flesh tastes, and---_!!_"

            Henry stomped on his foot on Terriermon's toes to get him to stop talking.  He set his hand on  her shoulder and said, "Don't worry.  Those things won't come within half a kilometer of here.  Nothing like that is going to happen again."

            She nodded.  She picked up one of the smaller children and, along with Hare, Davis, Ken, Willis, and Henry, she began moving them to the orphanage for Joe to look at.

            As they were carrying, Willis sighed.  "Why is it that so many people are this hard off?"

            Henry shook his head.  "I don't know.  We're all fortunate; we managed to find friends so fast and get together so that we could work together and survive."

            "I see what you mean."

            Davis asked, "One question:  This is a little off subject, but how can you tell who's Terriermon is whose?"

            "It's our job," one of the two Terriermon answered.

            "I see."

            Willis sighed.  "There's this huge speech Cleaver gave us about the difference between them:

                  'Those two look the same in normal-space, but they're as different as chalk and cheese in sub-space.  This one has superficial type-four muons on the outer rim of the tertiary quadrant, while the other has type four muons on the secondary.  That allows for digi-modification and other forms of---'

…And there was all kinds of other techno-babble, too. I'm not going to torture you with all of it, but the bottom line is that digimon from our universe and from Henry's universe are _way_ different."

A few hours later, their shifts were over. One of the Terriermon nudged the other and whispered, "The ol' switcheroo!"

"I hear you," the other answered.

"Man," Willis sighed, "What a day! I don't know about you, but I feel like I'm about ready to fall over!"

"I know the feeling," Terriermon said. "I get it every time I'm forced at gunpoint to dress like a cleaning maid."

Willis looked at the Terriermon like he was nuts. "When were you forced to dress like a cleaning maid?"

"Oh, every now and again…it's not an experience I'd like to repeat."

"…And who forces you to?"

"Evil subversive five-year-olds. Why do you ask?"

"Just wondering…personally, I think that you ought to avoid the orphanage from now on."

Meanwhile, three doors down…

Henry sighed. "You know, Terriermon, these tricks that the other digimon keep getting make me feel like you and I are kind of…I dunno…left out."

"How's that?"

"Well, half the digidestined have their crests back, and we…we don't even know how to get to the ultimate level."

"I bet there's a way. Even if that becomes a problem, we'll find a way around it."

"That's not like you to be optimistic…wait a sec! All right, you switched with Willis's Terriermon, didn't you?"

"I _am_ Willis's Terriermon!"

"Then go to Willis's room, and get my Terriermon back over here!"

Terriermon walked out of Henry's room and began walking towards Willis's, and, interestingly enough, Henry's Terriermon was walking back out the other way.

"Caught on quick, didn't he?" Henry's Terriermon asked.

"Your human's a smart one!"

"Let's see just how smart they really are." Both Terriermon did a 180° and went back to the rooms they started from.

Willis looked at Henry's Terriermon. "Nice try, Terriermon, but you can't fool us."

"No kidding," Terriermon said, pulling out a chair and sitting down. "One question…when's dinner?"

"Not for another hour."

"Ah, poo! What kind of lug nut supervisor is it that doesn't get her troops food when they need it?"

"Terriermon?"

"What is it?"

"Go back to Henry's room!"

Meanwhile, in Henry's room, Davis was snoring like a semi truck engine. Terriermon held his long ears shut, and didn't say a word.

All the while, Henry was standing in front of his closet, hanging up clothes that had just come from the laundry. He looked back at Terriermon after a moment. "Go back to Willis's room," Henry spat. "And stay there, this time!"

"What gave it away?"

"_My_ Terriermon would've complained, by now."

The two Terriermon again met in the middle. "Now, we'll really see how smart these two are!" Henry's Terriermon grinned.

"I dunno," Willis's Terriermon said. "I'm not so great at being underhanded and rude…"

"It's easy! I've been doing that for months! Okay, role play: I'm Willis. I have just said, 'Now, are you my Terriermon?' No, wait…that's not a good way to start out… how about, 'So, who came up with this idea, anyway?'"

"'You know it was Henry's Terriermon! That…uh, handsome creature!'"

"No-no! As much as I like you kissing up to me, that's too obvious! You have to make it look like you're hiding something! Let's try again… 'So, who came up with this idea, anyway?'"

"'It was Henry who came up with it.'"

"'Really?'"

"'Oh, you know Henry…he's always pulling pranks.'"

"'Is he?'"

"'Oh, come on! You know what a brat he is!'"

"Well…it's not getting to the point right away…but good enough. Let's do this!"

Willis's Terriermon went back to Willis's room, and Henry's to Henry's room. Shortly thereafter, Henry and Willis stormed out of their respective rooms, carrying their digimon with them. Without a word, they switched digimon halfway, and went back to their rooms.

_I wonder how long we can keep this up,_ Henry's Terriermon thought to himself… 

Special thanks to Golden Leomon 00 from Megchan's GIF Message Board for giving me the idea to switch these two Terriermon!


	26. Chapter 25: New Projects

Chapter 25:  New Projects

            All Ash could think of was how wonderful it would be to have a Tyranitar, and all Misty could think of was how awful it would be to lose Ash.  She thought of how, after Tyranitar would deep-six Ash, she would be all alone…like a widow whose husband went to sea and never came back.  It was a scary thought.

            Ash didn't have much fear to speak of.  He was too focused on catching Tyranitar.  "Primeape, use Cross Chop!"  The attack looked like it really wounded Tyranitar, and the wounds just made him angrier.  He hurled a slab of rock at Primeape out from one of his fists, but the slab missed.  "Great job, Primeape!  One more cross chop, and we're looking good!"

            Tyranitar was one step ahead of Ash:  he fired a yellow blast of energy out his mouth at Primeape, and Primeape was not looking well after that.  "Awh!  Primeape, return!  Totodile, I choose you!"

            "Ash, let's get out of here while we can!"

            "Misty, Totodile can handle this guy!  Totodile, use rain dance attack!"

            "_NO!!_" Misty mewed, searching for her raincoat in her backpack.  She huddled under an awning to keep out of the rain and shivered with her coat on to keep warm, but Ash didn't seem to mind the cold, wet weather it at all.  He was either enjoying it or too focused on the battle to even notice.  "Now, use Water gun!"

            Tyranitar was both wounded and very, _very_ angry.  It roared in defiance and hurled slab after slab of rock at Totodile.  Totodile was too agile to get hit, but he had trouble returning fire, too.

            "Hang in there, Totodile!  One more hit should get Tyranitar ready for a pokéball!"

            "Ash, he's charging up for Hyper Beam, again!" Misty shouted.

            "Totodile, quick!  Water Gun!"  Totodile blasted Tyranitar, and the giant pokémon's head tilted backwards.  The beam sliced through the air into the sky, and Tyranitar looked at though it were about to faint.  "Now…pokéball, go!"  Tyranitar struggled against the pokéball's subspace restraints with every ounce of energy he had left…and he broke out.  He looked at Ash and roared in anger.

            Misty let out a loud squeak.  "_ASH!!!_"

            "Pokéball, go!"  Ash threw a second pokéball Tyranitar, and it struggled again to break free…but he couldn't.  It was useless:  he was captured.  "YEEEEAAAAAHH!  _Tyranitar_, Misty!  That was one of the most powerful pokémon that exists!"

            Misty wasn't so enthusiastic.  "Ash, get out of that rain before you catch pneumonia!"

            "…Misty?  …Why are you all of a sudden my mother?"

            "Ash, you don't know how dangerous fighting a Tyranitar is!"

            "What're you talking about?  That was a cinch!"

            "It was _not!_  Look how badly it beat up Primeape!"

            "Okay…but Cleaver can heal Primeape up in a snap.  Come on.  Wait until Gary hears about this!"

            Misty no less terrified than before as Totodile's rain attack wore off, but she didn't say anything about her fear.  Her biggest fear was that all of this might happen again.  But, then…  "Say, Ash?  How could wild pokémon get here?  I mean, this planet is full of digimon, not pokémon, right?"

            "Yeah…so?"

            "So…what if that flood was another time anomaly?  What if it brought pokémon from our universe to here?"

            "Whoa…then there have _got_ to be some more worth catching!"

            "No, wait Ash!  Before you get out the party gear and put a lampshade on your head, let's remember that this is the middle of the city!  How would wild pokémon that are used to the country live in here?"

            "Whoa…they'd be toast...unless…unless a trainer were around to take them in!  Come on, Misty!  We have even _more_ saving to do than we thought before!"

            "But Ash…"  Misty sighed.  Everything she tried to say to convey the heaviness of the situation to Ash turned into wonderful daydreams somewhere between her mouth and Ash's ears.  "Ash, this is bad!"

            "…_How_?  How is this bad?"

            "All we need is a bunch more unpredictable monsters out there!"

            "Misty, if pokémon are here, then, chances are, they'd get into fights with the menace machines more, and that means fewer machines to deal with."

            "But…what about the pokémon that lose?"

            "…Okay, that's not so great.  But come on!  We need to tell everyone at the base about this."

            "…About what?"

            "About how there are pokémon around, now...and about how **_I_ **caught a _Tyranitar!_  Come on!"

            Misty covered her eyes and bit back the urge to sob.

******

            Tina and Youngdramon were taking on a new project:  they were putting wallpaper up on the walls to make it look like a scene with a rainbow piercing a blue sky.  (It would look ten times better than the dull, gray lead that walled the reactor.)  And they were amusing themselves by singing, although this wasn't a particularly obnoxious song.  But right after the bridge of, "I Can See Clearly Now The Rain Is Gone," Tina heard a noise like the aftermath of a bean festival.  She looked up to see Youngdramon in mid-flight, hovering close to the top of the wall.  She was duct-taping a torn inside-out pillow to the blue wallpaper to look like a cloud. "With a silver lining!" Youngdramon smiled, pointing at the gray duct tape that circled the fluffy whiteness.

            "Youngdramon!  You don't go doing noisy work while I'm in the middle of a performance!  A whoopee-cushion sound effect does not go well with this song!"

            "Oops...sorry."

            "Incoming!" Joe hollered into the orphanage.

            "Hello!  Code seven, ditch the wallpapering!" Tina shouted.  She took off her work apron and work gloves.  "What's the story, Joe?"

            "Eleven kids, four baby digimon, and three in-trainings."

            "Clean bill-of-health?"

            "They're all hale and hearty, besides being undernourished."

            "Good to know."  She slid a cardboard box of jackets up to the children.  "Pick out a coat!" The children were a little shy, at first. "No need to be shy. It gets cold in here, sometimes. You need to pick out a coat." One-by-one, the children began rifling around in the box, until there was a crowd with their arms inside.  "---No need to fight over them!  There are plenty of the same of each kind of jacket."  Tina slid another box, out from which rose a few whimpers, mews, and yips.  The children peered into the box and saw, to their amazement and delight, that the box was full of kittens and puppies.  "Each of you, pick _one _out."

            "What's with the kittens?" the leader of the children asked.

            "Standard protocol," Tina explained.  "Each kid gets a waterproof jacket in case we ever have to evacuate the building, and they all get a puppy or kitten to keep them warm, too.  There are usually enough blankets for everyone, but some kids sometimes have to share."

            The leader sighed.  "I volunteer to go without."

            "Not necessary today!"  Tina turned and yelled to June.  "Hey!  Go-fer!  Get the new shipment of comforters from storage!"

            "Comforters?" the leader asked.

            "We just found a whole bunch of blankets in one of the department stores in Tokyo, and these are so warm, they're hot!  Your bunch won't need to worry about keeping cozy."

            She sighed in relief.  "I can't thank you enough.  I mean, we were almost starving to death---"

            "Don't mention it.  Duty calls," Tina joked, straightening her beret and fake-saluting.

            Both girls chuckled.

            "By the way, what was your name?" Tina asked.

            "Natasha."

******

            "Listen, I'm getting a little nervous, here," Kari thought aloud.

            "Oh, you know that lightning in the sky doesn't mean anything!" Yolei assured her.

            "But through a _clear blue sky_?"

            "You know that _that_ doesn't mean anything, either, chi."

            Yolei, Kari, Moochi and Suezo were once again on seek patrol.  They were checking the warehouses around the bay to see if anyone was hiding in there.

            "There's plenty I don't like about our current situation, but you know what I _like_ about this?" Suezo asked.  "It's that Golem has _never_ thrown me into the air to let me look around since we found out that we were on another planet."

            "Did he do that before?" Kari asked.

            "Yeah," Suezo sighed.  "The _idea_ was that he'd catch me afterwards, but, in practice, that just didn't happen."

            "I see…I don't think that throwing you into the air would help, anyway.  If there are any people here, they're in hiding."

            "So we have to go out and find them?" Suezo asked.

            "Hence the name, 'seek patrol'," Yolei remarked.

            Looking up at one of the fishing boats, Kari asked, "You think that people would try to hide in one of those?  I mean, it doesn't look like the kind of thing a saberstrike or a canis-tor would try to squeeze into."

            "It's worth a try," Yolei agreed.  She slowly climbed into the boat's deck and looked around.  There was no one to be seen inside the cabin, in the hold, or in any of the storage lockers.  After a few minutes, she shouted down, "Nobody in this one."

            "Are we going to have to look in _all_ of them?" Kari asked.

            "That _would_ be a problem.  Especially if---" Yolei's sentence trailed off as they heard strange, loud noises rising up from the bottom of the boat.  Gatomon and Hawkmon stepped forward, in case this was a threat.  It sure seemed like a threat:  a dolphmon jumped out of the water, screaming his lungs out.  He landed on the dock, panicking and screaming all the more for his inability to move.  "Hey calm down!  Calm down!" Yolei insisted.  "What is it?"

            "_IT WANTS TO KILL ME!!!_"

            "It?" Kari asked with a gulp.

            A blue beam sprang up from the water, narrowly missing the dolphmon.

            Gatomon's claws glowed.  "Lightning Claw!"  She fired a pair of lightning bolts into the water, hoping that those would be enough to kill whatever was attacking.  The attacks stopped.  "Did I get him?"

            "Looks like it."

            The dolphmon was still panicking.

            "Hey, cool it!" Yolei insisted.

            " 'Cool it?'  I CAN'T MOVE!!!"

            "You don't have to get all jumpy about it!" Yolei spat.

            "Do you want us to put you back in the water?" Kari asked.

            "Actually, I was hoping that you'd put me on a spit, roast me, and eat me with tartar sauce and malt vinegar.  **_YES_** I WANT YOU TO PUT ME BACK IN THE WATER!!!"

            "You don't have to be so unfriendly about it, chi!"

            "Easy, Moochi!" Kari said as they tried to push the dolphmon into the water.  She managed to get out of her mouth between grunts of effort, "We're all scared, here---what with baby-eating monsters everywhere---so you can expect people---even us---to act a little---high-strung!"

            KER-SPLOOSH!  Dolphmon hit the drink and splashed water on all of them.

            Gatomon let out a disgruntled hiss.  "So much for staying dry!  And this is _saltwater_!  It would've been better if it had started raining, because rain is fresh water!  Saltwater leaves the salt behind in my fur when it dries!  Now, I have to do the most desperate thing ever:  I have to take a shower!  I can't clean this off with my tongue, or I'd die of thirst!"

            As it started to rain, Gatomon's face took on a much angrier frown.  "Great.  Now, I have two choices:  soak even more, or become a walking, furry saltlick!"

            "Gatomon, do you _always_ have to be so pessimistic?" Kari asked.  She pulled an umbrella and a towel out of her backpack and began rubbing Gatomon off.  "You _know_ it could be worse, right?"

            "Oh, yeah?"

            A huge ball of green energy leapt from the water before Yolei and Hawkmon could fish their ponchos from their backpacks.  "Why did I have to ask?!" Gatomon moaned.

            "**Hawkmon, digivolve to…Altairmon!**"

            They stared at the water's surface, and there was a huge, robotic squid in the water.  It was firing those balls of energy out its head.

            "Lightning Claw!"

            "Moochi Cannon!" 

            "Blast Rings!"

            The crackone was little more than knocked backwards.

            "Looks like we need a extra firepower, here!" Yolei shouted.

            "No kidding:  look!"  Gatomon pointed to a huge, metal bird that was flying in low and firing at them.

            "Teleport!" Suezo shouted, beaming them out of the way of the shots. 

            "We need to DNA digivolve!" Kari shouted.

            "**Altairmon!**"

            "**Gatomon!**"

            "**DNA digivolve to…Swampangemon!**"

            "I don't think Swampangemon can take them both, chi!  Let me module evolve!"

            "Right!"  Yolei touched the digi-egg of love to Moochi's forehead, and…

            "**Moochi, module-evolve to…Turtledove!**"

            "Whoa.  I need to get a transformation like that!" Suezo thought aloud.  Shaking rainwater off his back, he added, "Not to mention working raingear!"

            Turtledove went after the c-bird while Swampangemon attacked the crackone.  As Turtledove and the c-bird traded shots, Swampangemon dove beneath the surface of the water…and she stayed under too long for comfort.  Occasionally, an orange beam would fly up from the water, proving she was still alive and firing her Static Pulse attack.

            It wasn't long before Turtledove finished the c-bird.  He flew down and regressed back to Moochi.  "What's happening to Gatomon and Altairmon, chi?"

            "We don't know…it _looks_ like they're still fighting that metal squid-thingy," Yolei answered.

            "Have you ever seen that thing in one of Cleaver's books?" Kari asked.

            Yolei shook her head.  "Never.  We'd better report this…"

            Swampangemon went flying up out of the water, propelled by a beam of purple light.  She landed on the shore with a gasp, and shouted, "The opening…the opening where he shoots out those green things!"

            "Huh?"

            The squid crashed into the dock, knocking everyone off their balance.  Yolei's backpack came open, spilling humanitarian gear and her digi-eggs into the water.  Having no hands, Suezo fell into the water, too.

            "Aw, great!" Kari moaned…

GAZRIITOR:

Nickname: Crackone (Takotōru)  
Real Name: Eflo-tor-oot'le  
Caste: Yon Ro Var'ka  
Modes: One  
Special Attacks:  
Ro Dar Tarrwawo Trii  
Tuli Telo Non Tarrwawo Don  
Comments:  
The crackone is composed of several different lower menace machines. In combination, the constituent ator's firepower is combined into one large attack: Tuli Telo Non. The attack fires out a vent in the crackone's head. Other than Tuli Telo Non, the crackone retains all its constituent's attacks, including torpedoes, chainsaw arms, laser eyes, and the ability to eat flesh. Similar to its constituents, it is solely designed for the water. 

GAZRIITOR:

Nickname: C-bird (Kazedatōru)  
Real Name: Riidae-tor-viioh  
Caste: Ro Var'ka To'rel  
Modes: One  
Special Attacks:  
Yon Dar Gazrii  
Comments:  
The C-bird is roughly equivalent in overall power to an ultimate digimon. It is quick in both air and water, but not very maneuverable. It is armed with two laser cannons, which it mainly uses to fight large ships and digimon; It is not programmed to attack human beings. The two purple insignia on its wings probably mean that it was designed by some high official, or that it somehow has an above-average status. 

AUTHOR'S NOTES:

I bet you're wondering how I get alien names for these menace machines...well, actually, I look up scientific names of stuff on Encyclopædia Britannica to get some of the names. C-bird is an example of this; I looked up the scientific name of a seal to get the chain-name for the C-bird.

Also, I structured alien the names in a specific way. I saw that all digimon have names that end in the syllable "mon", and I wanted something like that when I designed the menace machines. So, all menace machines' names have the syllable "tor" in the middle, the evolution chain name before the syllable "tor", and the species name after the syllable "tor". As for caste, the caste essentially tells what the machine's job is. "Var'ka", for example, translates to "patrol", "Nut'ka" translates to "assault", etc. You can probably figure out the rest if you look at the machines and their descriptions...I'm going to need to publish that alien-English dictionary, sometime.

As for how I came up with the Japanese names...well, a handful of them are simply one word attached to the syllable "tōru". Mandroid's Japanese name is "Hitōru", and the word "hi" (pronounced more like the english word "he") looked to me like it had something to do with a person or a human being. There are, or course, others. For instance, the e-gull's Japanese name is "denkimo", which combines two words: the word "denki" which has something to do with electricity, and the word "kimo" which means "chicken liver". ...Needless to say, the name puns are just as bad in Japanese as they are in English. I guess that was something like what I was aiming for... I got these Japanese words from "Say It In Japanese", a book I picked up at Barnes and Noble. And I tried to make sure that none of these names were swear words by sending them to Róisín Ward, webmistress of All That Is Ishida, a site that so graciously hosted Endgame, my other fiction. It was nice of her, especially considering Endgame's length. As for the Japanese letters (katakana) I get them from www.kids-japan.com/kata-chart.htm


	27. Chapter 26: Motives

Chapter 26:  Motives

            Tiger sat down at the table next to Hare with a huge, ear-to-ear smile on his face.  Hare, on the other hand, had a frown on his face, and sat with his chin resting on his hand, picking at his food.  Tiger let out a sigh of joy, and that grabbed Hare's attention.  "What're you so glad about?"

            "Isn't she the cutest creature ever?"

            "_Who_?"

            "Rufusmon!"

            "Rufusmon?  …I wouldn't know; I've never seen her."

            "She sitting right over there."

            Hare looked, and the only two people at the table Tiger was looking at were Rika and Renamon.  He looked away with a scowl of disgust.  "I only saw _Renamon_," he spat, and he emphasized his disgust on the word "Renamon".

            "Sure, now she's not so great, but when she digivolves…she's the best-looking thing I've ever seen!"

            "You're in love with Renamon?"

            "Yeah!"

            Hare felt a pang of jealousy.  He was reluctant to show it; he had such mixed emotions right then that he was speechless.

            "I know; she leaves _me_ speechless, too!"

******

            The squid roared at them with the strangest noise they'd ever heard.  There was an interesting answer:  "Hooooooowaaaaaaaaah!"  Suezo jumped out of the water, except that he wasn't Suezo:  he was Saw-grass.  He'd module-evolved with the digi-egg of sincerity.

            "Time you met your match, because _you're_ not the only one with a few arms to spare!" Saw-grass spat as he set Yolei's backpack on the ground.  "Roto-saw!" he shouted, thrusting the spinning blades in his hands forward.  The blades made a pair of scratch marks, but did little more.

            "The opening!" Swampangemon shouted.  "Plug the opening, and you'll finish it off when it fires again!"

            "Huh?  …Blossom Blade!" Saw-grass shouted, spitting a metal blade out his mouth.  It landed straight in the cannon on the squid's head.

            The squid shouted, "Tuli Telo Non!" and the blast somehow reflected back into the squid's body and blew its tentacles off.  It ceased to be a crackone and became a pair of snake-like creatures---which had been the surviving tentacles‑‑‑and the body of the squid:  mallusk.

            Swampangemon got up.  Tossing a beam of static at one of the tendrills, she said, "I got the idea when I saw one of its shots reflect off some metal underwater."

            "Quick thinking," Yolei shouted.

            "Blossom Blade!"  Saw-grass cut a hole in the mallusk's armor shell.

"Moochi Cannon!" Moochi fired into the mallusk's exposed innards, and it sank to the bottom.

            "Now, there's only the snakes left," Swampangemon thought aloud.

            "No problem!" Saw-grass grinned.

            "Tarrwawo Don!" the tendrills howled.  The chainsaw blades on their heads whirred.

            "Moochi Cannon!"  The tendrill reflected Moochi's attack away with its blades.  " 'No problem' is easy for _you_ to say!" Moochi grumbled.

            "I sure hope it is!  Roto-saw!"  Saw-grass immediately got in a chainsaw fight with the tendrills.  It was enough distraction for Swampangemon to pick up Moochi, get behind the two menace machines, and, along with Moochi, blow them up with a few attacks.

            "What do you know?  I got _both_ my wishes!" Suezo beamed.  "Sweet evolution, and stylish, functional duds!"  He looked at his reflection in a window glass.  He had a pair of leaves for capes attached to his back, and his clothes looked quite a bit like Shurimon's.  "Yeah.  I wish I'd had this fighting Moo!"

            "Enjoying your day in the sun?" Kari joked.

            "Sun?!" Swampangemon spat.

            "Okay, so it's raining, but the sun is _also_ out, making this too weird, but still---!"

            Swampangemon sighed.  "Excuse me for a second."  She flew up into the air, just behind a wall in an alley.  For a few seconds, there was a loud panging of water drops against the metal.  She flew back up over the wall, snapped up her slicker, and tightened her hood strings.  "Just getting the saltwater off with my spin-cycle."

            "One question---how did you make it underwater so long?" Kari asked.

            "I can breathe underwater," she answered.

            "Really?  Then I think you're the highest-level digimon who can go underwater besides Mermon."

            "Huh…then I'd better get _used_ to the water!  And that's easier said than done!"

            "Well, at least you can always dry off by spinning super fast."

            "I guess."

            "So…now what?"

            "I don't know.  But I'll be able to carry back any hostages we find if I go to giga mode and carry them in my pockets."

            "Are your pockets dry?"

            "The zippers on my pockets are airtight, so of course they're dry---" Swampangemon felt and saw something wiggle in one of the many pockets of her slicker.  She reached in to check what it was, and she pulled a live fish out.

            "Uh-huh…" Kari murmured.

            Beginning to eat the fish, Swampangemon insisted, "That one came open!  The others are bone dry:  feel for yourself!"

            "You have an ulterior motive:  you're really staying in this form to keep dry beneath that coat."

            "That's true, but I haven't lied to you once:  I _can_ carry hostages in this thing!"

            "Oh, all right.  Come on."

GAZRIITOR:

Nickname: Tendrill (Karunagi)  
Real Name: Eflo-tor-j'mao  
Caste: Ro Var'ka  
Modes: One  
Special Attacks:  
Tarrwawo Don  
Comments:  
The Tendrill is a water tor. It has no long-range attacks, and is faster than it is agile. However, its chainsaw-like head allows it to burrow into coral reefs and sand beds to hide, so that it can ambush and attack people, boats, and water-dwelling digimon. Two tendrills can combine with other water machines and a mallusk to form crackone, one of the most serious threats in the water. 

GAZRIITOR:

Nickname: Mallusk (Kyumeitōru)  
Real Name: Eflo-tor-bezo  
Caste: Yon Ro Var'ka  
Modes: One  
Special Attacks:  
Ro Dar  
Tarrwawo Trii  
Comments:  
This tor looks sluggish awkward, but is very fast and agile in the water. It draws water through the intake between its fins and jets it out its eight turbines. This propulsion system is what allows its higher form, crackone, to combine its constituents' attacks. The mallusk is armed with eight torpedoes and three laser eyes, and can digest biomass by inserting it into its beak with tiny, unseen arms beneath its body. 


	28. CHapter 27: More Arriving Every Day

Chapter 27:  More Arriving Every Day

            "Hello!" Willis shouted.  "Incoming!"

            "Whoa---is that---Silphymon?" Henry asked.

            "Sort of…that's Swampangemon.  Whatever turned us into kids again also changed the digimon a lot.  Gatomon and Hawkmon DNA digivolve to Swampangemon, and this form is a lot like Silphymon, except she can control her own size, and she has that raincoat."

            "Huh…!"

            "Makes me wish I had some of those changes!" Henry's Terriermon thought aloud.

            "How do you know you don't?  Renamon got some changes in her other forms; her champion form isn't what it was before.  She used to be Kyubimon, but now she's Rufusmon."

            "Hmm…but I don't remember any new features while I was Gargomon."

            "Maybe if you could digivolve to ultimate, you'd get more features…"

            "Maybe…"

            Swampangemon came to a stop in front of the nuke plant's entrance.  She knelt and opened her pockets, and people began filing out.

            "Whoa…I didn't see _that_ coming!" Henry said.

            "Neither did I.  …Do any of these kids look like orphans to you?"

            "Beats me.  Hey!  Everyone!  File into the plant and line up at the doctor's office---turn right, then left at the end of the hall---hey, kid!  Go with the rest of them!  Keep in line!"  Henry and Willis had the job of keeping the people in queue as they entered the nuclear power plant.  They were chosen for guard duty because their Gargomon would be able to dispense a lot of firepower in case the menace machines changed their minds and decided to attack the plant.  The machines never seemed to want to attack, tough.

            "Man, this is a long line, today!" Willis noted.  "How does Joe put up with this?"

            "_He_ doesn't.  He's not the only doctor here, so he tells me."

            "Good to know.  Of course---we might want to call in every doctor we have to handle this bunch.  Where did you find them all?" Willis asked Yolei.

            "Well, we found them in the harbor, hiding in the warehouses and the fishing boats."

            "How on Earth did they survive?"

            "Mostly on what they could catch right under the docks.  They've tried going out in fishing boats to catch more, but they can't sail five meters out of the harbor before they get attacked by some water menace machine."

            "There are menace machines underwater, _too_?" Henry asked.

            "Afraid so," Gatomon answered.  "We found an airplane-like monster, and this giant, metal squid!  And you know how these menace machines _combine_ so that they can digivolve?"

            "Yeah?"

            "They can de-digivolve and make a whole bunch of smaller fighters, too.  That's what we made the squid do, and its head and its arms became these boat- and snake-monsters."

            "Ouch!  Sounds like we really need to watch out if we're going to take to sea!"

            Kari nodded.  "No kidding.  I don't see why we'd need to go into the water, but---"

            Yolei interrupted, "I dunno, Kari…"

            "What do you mean?"

            "Food supplies are getting kind of low.  We aren't getting as much from the stores, anymore…I mean, the food in the stores can only last us so long…"

            "You mean we're going to have to go out there and go fishing for more?  How many of us _really_ have any experience at sailing a boat?"

            "Some of the people from the docks would _have_ to have had experience.  And any fighters that tag along would only have to be there to defend from menace machines; we wouldn't actually be sailing the boat."

            "You really think that's a good idea?"

            "Hey, how many machines can there be out there?"

******

            Takato heard a roar behind him.  He and Rika wheeled around.  A saberstrike slashed at Takato's arm and made a cut in it, right before Guilmon blasted the saberstrike away.  "Aw, great!" Takato muttered as he looked at the hungry group of saberstrikes that were backing up the one who had just attacked him.  "**Digi-modify!****  Digivolution, activate!**"

            "**Guilmon, digivolve to…Growlmon!**"

            Rika was about to pass a digivolution card through her D-Arc, but Takato insisted, "If we both digivolve, then our digimon will both be worn out once the fight's done!  That won't be good if we get attacked on our way back."

            Rika spat, "Don't you dare leave _me_ out of a fight---"

            "That's an _order_, Rika!"

            "Order?  What is this, the army?"

            "It might as well be; Yolei told me that I have seniority in this, so I'm in charge!"

            "Yeah, whatever---"

            "You want another punishment like the one Yolei gave you before?  I heard that you ended up crying after that one, so you must not have liked it!"

            Rika was taken aback:  word had gotten out she could be weak.  She swallowed hard and was speechless.  The digivolution card fell out of her hand.

            "Good.  Growlmon, use your Dragon Claw!"  Growlmon launched a white blade into the saberstrikes and scattered bits of metal everywhere.

            Only three saberstrikes were left.  They ran together and twisted their tails into one braid:  "**Ferra-tor-grend'l****, noh kreshnaiona djom…ferra-tor-cknii!**"

            Growlmon shouted, "Pyroblaster!" but the spiderstrike dodged beneath.  He hurled attack after attack, but the spiderstrike was too quick, and even landed a few hits on Growlmon.

            Rika was still stunned, but she managed to get out, "Takato…he needs help!"

            "And help he'll get:  **digi-modify!  Hypersonic, activate!**"

            Growlmon was now quick enough to dodge the spiderstrike's returned shots, and dealt out more attacks more quickly.  But he still wasn't able to do much damage, even when he hit.  Takato at first thought he should use the same trick as the one he tried on Etemon, but he realized that the spiderstrike would be too quick for Growlmon to land a continuous pyroblaster attack on it.

            He clutched his cards, and felt something strange in his right hand.  He wondered if it didn't have to do with the wound on his arm, but he looked, and there was a blue card in his deck---one exactly like the one he'd used to make Guilmon in the first place.  "Huh…!  ---Well, here goes nothing:  **digi-modify!  Matrix digivolution, activate!**"

            "**Growlmon, digivolve to…Wargrowlmon!**"

            "Wargrowlmon…?"  Rika pulled out her D-Arc and got a reading on him.  "Cyber-type…he's an _ultimate_?"

            "Wargrowlmon, go for it!"

            "Atomic Blaster!" he shouted, firing a pair of white beams out his chest at the spiderstrike. That finished it off.

            "How---how did you do that?" Rika asked.

            "I don't know…I just used a blue card on my digivice, and then---"

            "What blue card?"

            "This one right…here…" Takato held up in his hand an ordinary hyper-wings card.

            "That's not a blue card at all!"

            "But…but…it was right here!  It was a blue card, and I---"

            "Are you sure you're cut out for leadership if you're seeing things?"

            "It _couldn't_ have been an illusion; how else could Growlmon have digivolved?"

            "Good question, but if there was a blue card, then where's it now?"  She looked at Takato's cut.  "You know, that doesn't look so good.  I think you'd better have Joe look at it."

            "I _guess_," Takato agreed with a wince.  "At least we have a fast way of getting there," he said, looking at Wargrowlmon.  As they were flying back, Takato wrapped his arm tightly in one of his humanitarian blankets to stop the bleeding.  "You know, I'm going to have to have Cleaver take a look at that card---I wonder how it changed into a blue card and back so quickly…?"


	29. Chapter 28: Operation: Squids!

NOTE: There is Christian content that may offend some readers, but no more than in the movie  Beloved, during the birth scene.

Chapter 28:  Operation: Squids!

            Cleaver shook his head.  "As near as I can figure, this card is nothing but paper and ink.  Whatever goes on with these things, it happens in your D-Arcs."

            "But it was a blue card that started the D-Arcs in the first place!"

            "What do you mean?"

            "I swiped a blue card through my electronic experience counter for the digimon card game, and it turned into my D-Arc."

            "Weird…the only thing I can think of is a data feedback stream with the card having a preprogrammed, nonliving subspace matrix of its own…"

            "In English?"

            "The card is kind of like a digimon in itself, except that it isn't alive.  You see, digimon and other S.I. life forms have these other bodies in subspace, and we call those bodies 'subspace matrixes'.  All the eating, thinking, breathing, and fighting goes on in their normal-space bodies, but it's the processes in subspace that let them digivolve and use special attacks, and that lets you digi-modify _your_ digimon.  My guess is that this 'blue card' you're talking about has a subspace matrix of its own, and that the matrix somehow interacts with normal-space electric appliances the same way a digimon's subspace matrix affects its own normal-space body.  I'd say the card reformatted and replaced matter in your counter and transmogrified it into a D-Arc."

            "Weird…but then, how would it make Growlmon digivolve to ultimate?"

            "Beats me.  I'd have to see the card, myself, and analyze its subspace matrix to answer that."

            "Huh…well, thanks."

            "How'd you get the---uh…" Cleaver rolled back the sleeve of his robe and ran his finger up and his arm to point out the line of redness that ran up and down the gauze wrapped around Takato's arm.

            "Oh…that.  A saberstrike got me."

            "Struck you with a saber, huh?"

            "That's not very funny."

            "Yeah, you're right…but you've earned it!  A battle scar!"

            "Scar?  I'm going to have to live with a line on my arm for the rest of my life??!!"

            "It's not that bad!  In fact, I think it's a _good_ thing!  I'd _love_ to have a battle scar of my own, but, instead, I'm stuck doing what I do best:  I'm the weirdo tech guy who sits in the background and explains stuff."  Cleaver sighed.  "Excuse me, I have some new menace machines to catalogue."

            "Okay.  See you around."

            "Take it easy."

******

            "Honey, I _really_ don't think it's such a good idea."

            "Yolei, you know that Tina and June have water-dwelling digimon.  We need all the help we can get to deal with any water machines you'll run into."

            "But she's just a kid!"

            Ken turned his head and stared into a mirror.  Yolei looked, too.  "Dear…_we're _both kids again, too."

            "But…she's not as mature as we are!  Okay, maybe whatever messed up time turned my body into a kid, but it didn't turn my mind into a kid's mind!  Tina…she was _never_ a grown-up.  How can she function out there in a world full of danger and death?"

            "Yolei, we were kids when we saved the world from Malomyotismon.  Look how that turned out.  And another thing:  _all_ of us were kids.  The only adults working with us were Gennai, Cleaver, and their crew.  But with Tina, she'll have a few adults with her---adults that she knows.  That's better than what we had.  And we're sending out kids even younger than she is, like Rika and Ash and Tracy.  They seem to be doing okay."

            "But---" Yolei sighed.  "I couldn't stand to lose her."

            "There's just as much risk to the other children as there would be to her.  If we can risk their safety, then it would be selfish and wrong to keep Tina out of the line of fire."

            Yolei sobbed.

            Ken pulled her close to his chest.  "Now, now, honey…"

            "But Tina's just not cut out for this!  She was almost eaten by a saberstrike a few---"

            "We all have close calls.  Takato had one just a few hours ago."

            "But she was putting herself in danger to save a _deer_!"

            "Okay, maybe that was poor judgment or her part.  But mistakes are how we learn."

            "What if her next mistake gets her killed?"

            "Not while you're right there next to her.  Besides, if we're talking about a water fight, it'll be Tina on the deck of the boat, while Ikudramon or Mermon is fighting the menace machines underwater.  Tina won't be in any more danger than the ship.  And we'll have Ikkakumon, Submarimon, Swampangemon, and Mermon protecting the ship---and who knows how many pokémon.  That number of fighters is nothing to sneer at, especially with Swampangemon's ability to control her own size.  In fact, if worse comes to worse, we can have Swampangemon pick up the boat and _fly_ with it back to shore.  This is a good way for Tina to be a part of the action.  And I don't think it's healthy for her not to be."

            Yolei dried her tears.  "You're right.  I _am_ being selfish.  But I'm still not sure about _any_ of this.  What if we don't find any fish?"

            "Cody has every Christian we've found praying that this will be a successful voyage!  God doesn't hold back His blessings…especially when they're needed."

            Yolei sighed.  "Okay…I'll ask Tina about it."  The following morning---or evening, depending on your point of reference---Yolei walked into the orphanage and asked Tina, "Do you have a minute?"

            Tina gulped:  what was she going to be punished for, this time?  "Sure…I've got a minute."

            "There's…a really weird mission I have."

            "_YES!!  THANK YOU, JESUS!!_  Yeeee-haaaaaa**AAAA!!!**"

            "…And you haven't even heard what the mission is!"

            "Hold on a minute; it's not _inside_ the nuke plant, is it?" Tina asked, suddenly worried that her display of enthusiasm had been premature.

            "No, it's not.  It's wet, and it smells bad."

            "…Sounds like a dead fish."

            "Dead fish are definitely involved:  we're worried about our food supplies, and so your father and I are organizing all the people with water fighters or sailing experience, so that we'll be able to take a fishing boat out to sea and catch fish for everyone."

            "Oh…I'd be happy to come along, sure!"

            "June would have to come, too."

            "I'll see what she says.  Hey, June!"

            "What?"

            "Mom is letting us out of this metal cage!"

            "We're back on seek patrol?"

            "No," Yolei shouted back.  "This is a special mission, we need to catch fish at sea!"

            "Fish?  No thanks; I prefer my fish with rice, not alive!"

            "Oh, come _on_, June!" Youngdramon cut in.  "That open ocean air will clear out your sinuses and unclog your pores!"

            "Really?"

            "Oh, sure!  And it does wonders for curing colds and---"

            "My pores…hmm…if I can get rid of this zit, then…the next time Matt sees me…"

            "Matt?  We haven't found him, yet!" Yolei shouted.

            "But if we ever do, I'll want my complexion to be top-shape!  …I'm in!  If there's a way to keep the fish smell from soaking into my clothes."

            "Rainsuits are provided," Yolei answered.

            "Then I'm there!"

            Before Yolei left, she asked Tina, "One question:  do you know anyone else, any other monsters or Digidestined or trainers that can help us when it comes to the water?"

            "Well…there's Misty; her specialty was water pokémon, and Ash had a couple water-types, himself…and Tracy is experienced at sea, too…he might be able to help.  And let's not forget Michael and Seadramon."

            "Oh, _right_!  I forgot about Michael!  I'll go ask him if he can join us."

            As Yolei walked away, Tina sighed happily.  "Ah, the open ocean!"

            Youngdramon joined in crooning about their soon-to-be-had adventure:  "The salty breezes!"

            "The gentle rocking of the waves!"

            "The moon on the crest of the water!"

            "The sunset reflecting off the sea!"

            June chimed in, "The typhoons, the sharks, the man-eating, giant robotic squids!"

            "Sound delicious!" Youngdramon said, smacking her lips with her forked tongue.

            "Oh, shut up!"

            "June, why do you always have to be such a stick-in-the-mud?" Tina asked.

            "Why do _you_ always have to be such a ding-a-ling?"


	30. Chapter 29: Revelations

Chapter 29:  Revelations

            Brock was speaking with Misty, who was wearing a rainsuit and gloves that made her look like she was from the cast of _The Perfect Storm_.  She had Togepi in her hands.

            "Brock, could you _please_ take care of Togepi?"

            "Of course, Misty."

            "And…if I don't come back…"

            "I understand.  Don't worry; I'll take good care of him.  Togepi will be safe with me."

            "Thanks…you have no idea how much this means to me."

            "Actually, I do. I know how it feels to have a child counting on you."

            Ash stepped forward.  "Uh…Brock?"

            "Yes, Ash?"

            "There's one thing I'd like you to take care of for me, too."  He took off his hat.  "I don't want to lose this out there."

            Brock took the hat, increased the size with a couple of snaps, and put it on his own head.  Like Ash always did when he met a new challenge, Brock turned the cap backwards.  "I'll take care of it for you."

            "Thanks."

            Kari and Tina came up to him, too.  Brock immediately began to flush.  It ran through his mind that, when he'd first seen Yolei, he'd been _very_ disappointed---and surprised, too---to hear that she was already married.  Then, when he saw her unwed daughter, he was just as thrilled as he'd been disappointed.  His mind was dwelling on his first meeting with Tina and his thoughts of her good looks while they were speaking to him.

            "Brock?"

            "Huh?"

            "Didn't you hear us?"

            "…Were you talking?"

            Tina snickered.  She knew Brock was taking interest in her, and she wondered how she could take advantage of this situation and make Brock do something amusingly dumb out of his hormonal stupor.  "Oh, nothing important.  We just wanted you to take care of the kids on a double-shift."

            "Sure…double-shift…"

            "That's all.  Make sure you drink plenty of coffee!"

            Kari nudged Tina.  "That was so nasty of you!  You _do_ realize that, one of these days, one of your pranks is going to do a lot more harm than good?"

            "We'll cross that bridge when we come to it."

            Tina looked around as she stepped aboard.  There were a whole bunch of fishermen aboard, of all ages.  One of them was only eight years old, but he _had_ been a fisherman with fifty years in the business.  That was the problem with messed-up time:  for all Tina knew, they'd come home _before_ they'd leave, and, hopefully, they wouldn't create a time paradox that would be difficult and necessary to figure out.

            The time-paradox idea messed up Tina's mind and forced her to think of another topic:  she had movies to spoof.  Just as the ship was pulling out, she climbed to the prow of the boat and shouted, "I'M THE KING OF THE WORLD!!"  As she screamed, she noticed something out in the mist.  It was…their own boat, coming _in_!  Her mind was even more messed up:  the time-paradox that she'd thought of was _actually _happening!  She was overwhelmed and dizzy from the strangeness of this, but then it occurred to her:  if their ship was coming back, then something absolutely _had_ to happen out there that would make them go back in time, and they'd absolutely _have_ to make it back all right in the end.  How this was happening, Tina didn't know…but she shouted to her future self in the other boat, "Any advice for me?"

            Tina felt so strange in her head that she barely heard and barely understood the other one say, "Beware the sea-faring man with one leg!" and then break down laughing hysterically after a short pause.

            Yolei yanked Tina back from the railing.  "Don't go out to the edge of the boat like that, Tina!"

            "What's the worst that could happen?  I'd fall in, right?  It wouldn't be _that_ bad."

            "It would be _very _bad if one of those machines found you and ate you while you were in the water.  Tighten those life vest cords.  And zip up that rain suit."

            "Let's think about this, Mom:  if I don't zip it up, I risk getting my front side wet.  And look at how I'm sweating:  it will end up drenched either way. And if I _do_ zip up the suit, I risk dying of heat exhaustion.  Which sounds worse to you?"

            "Don't give me that lip, Tina!"

            "Mom, how many times do I have to tell you that you worry too much?" Tina asked, in a very mother-like tone.

            "**NOT---ANOTHER---_WORD_!**" Yolei spat, walking away from her.

            Youngdramon sighed.  "What's her problem?  She knows that there are about a billion ways you can get out of the water, with this boat!  And I can digivolve if worse comes to worse!  …You _do_ know I'm not going to let you, die, right?"

            "Oh, I _know_ we'll make it back okay, but not for the reason you think I do.  But let's get to work."

            "What's work?"

            "Watch for evil menace machines and digivolve if we see any."

            "How can you watch if you're not on the edge of the deck?"

            "Mom said to stay in the cabin until we're needed."

            "So we might end up staying in there for the whole trip?"

            "Probably…you _know_ she'll pick us to fight last of all."

            "Hmm…"

******

            Rika wondered about Takato's cut.  But she didn't say anything:  she didn't want to look like a social creature, _or_ like she cared.  She had an irrational fear of people thinking she cared.

            Black clouds grumbled overhead, but the air beneath couldn't be more _un_-storm-like:  it felt like a still winter's afternoon.  Takato and Rika were both wearing blankets to keep warm.  Rika felt uncomfortable wearing a blanket, as though she were showing some sign of weakness by trying to stay warm.  So she didn't say anything at all…until something caught her eye.  It was a big column that looked like rippling shadows of light and dark.  "Uh, Takato?"

            Takato looked at the column.  It was like a huge tornado in that it went from the ground straight up to the sky, but it wasn't destructive at all.  The four of them got closer to it.

            "What is it?" Guilmon asked.

            "I have no clue."  Takato slowly put his arm in.  He suddenly felt some strange force jerk his hand forward, and before he knew it he was totally inside the column---and he had vanished!

            "Takato…?  …TAKATO??!!" Rika yelled into the column.  There was no answer.  She began to panic, but then she heard a low noise coming out of the column.  It was speech that was garbled by a time density anomaly:  first, it was high and squeaky, then, the next second, normal speed, then the next second, slow, and then fast again.  Unfortunately, the words were completely unintelligible.  Finally, Takato came flying out of the column at full speed, and he smacked into Rika.  Rika went careening backwards, and landed on the seat of her pants.  "Ow!  Watch it!"

            "Sorry.  I didn't see that coming, either…how long was I in there?"

            "About five seconds."

            "Huh…I had no clue how long I was inside.  And I---!" he stared in disbelief at his arm:  the bandage and the wound were both gone!

            "What on earth…?" Renamon asked.

            A loud "YIYIYIYIYIYIYYIYIYIYI!" interrupted their conversation.

            "Not an issue!" Rika thought aloud, looking at the trio of headhunters that were charging them.  "You and Guilmon took the last ones, so Rufusmon and I should take these."

            "Okay…be my guest."

            "**Digi-modify!****  Digivolution, activate!**"

            "**Renamon, digivolve to…Rufusmon!**"  Rufusmon ran towards the headhunters with her flames blazing.  "Magnesium conflagration!"  The white flames seemed to do little or no damage to the headhunters.

            "Dra Kou!" one of them yelled as he jabbed a spear in Rufusmon's direction.  Rufusmon was way too quick to be hit, but she couldn't land a substantial hit on _them_, either.

            "Rika, I think something else is called for!"

            "Right…**digi-modify!  Armor, activate!**"  A block of metal appeared on the tip of Rufusmon's tail.

            Rufusmon spun around and knocked the headhunters for six with the block on her tail.  She was having more success with the tail-swiping than the fire attacks, but the attacks still weren't doing enough damage…

            "Rika!  Combo!  Do an upgrade card!"

            "Like I need you to tell _me_! I'm the champ Digimon Card Game player!  **Digi-modify!  Upgrade, activate!**"

            Rufusmon had enough strength to smash the headhunters to bits.  All that remained of them were their spears that lay on the ground, and the spears looked like they were covered in a sticky, dried-out brown fluid. "Ugh!  What is that stuff?" Rika asked as she holstered her D-Arc.

            "Let's see---it's brown, it stinks, and it looks disgusting.  One of two things:  sewer water, or dried blood."

            Rika gulped.  "Who…who do you think they got?" she asked, and it was clear from her voice that she was scared to death.

            "It's not like you to care.  …I don't know."

            The words, "it's not like you to care," didn't filter through her mind.  She was still staring at those three dead abominations, thinking about them and what they do…  She thought back to the hospital's waiting room…how she'd been broken down like that…she didn't realize it, but tears were running down her face.

            Finally, she came to her senses and looked at Takato.  He said, in the same tone he would use to tell someone that they're snoring, "Rika…you're crying." 

            Rika hastily wiped off her tears.

            "Sorry to be rude, but I just didn't think it was appropriate for you to be crying," Takato said.

            "Of course not.  Silly me." Her tone suddenly became menacing: "And if I hear _one_ word about this around the nuke plant, then you'll get it right in the face!"

            Takato looked like he was about to say something, then sighed and decided to hold his tongue.

            "What?" Rika asked.

            "Nothing.  I---"

            "**What were you about to say, Takato?**"

            "It's…not something you'd enjoy hearing---"

            "_What was it?!_"

            "I was gonna say…well…do you think that crying is a bad thing?"

            "Of course it is!"

            "Well…I think you need it."

            "What do you mean?"

            "You know how you're always blowing up at people?"

            "Yeah, it's because you're all a bunch of puffed-up, bossy, greater-than-thou---"

            "So _all_ of us have a problem, and you don't?"

            Rika didn't answer.

            "Rika…!"  Takato sighed.  "You blow up at people because you refuse to relate to them.  Your refusing to relate builds up stress in your head, and it's when you cry that you snap, and the stress gets relieved.  It's not a bad thing that you're crying---"

            "Shut up!  I've heard this speech a billion times before!"

            "Then why did you ask to hear it again?"

            "That's a good question."

            "…All right, then…let's get back to base before something else happens."

            Rika snarled back, "If we ride on Rufusmon's back, we'll get back faster."

            Takato was about to say something else, but he thought better of it and climbed on Rufusmon's back without saying a word.


	31. Chapter 30: Situational Irony

Chapter 30:  Situational Irony

            Misty kept one hand on Ash's arm as the ship sailed into a blinding mist.  "Ash, this is getting spooky…!"

            "So…what do you expect me to do about it?"

            "That's not what I wanted to hear.  Something along the line of 'we'll be okay; stop worrying' was more like what I was hoping for."

            Ash sighed.  "Misty, you worry too much.  That's all I have to say to you."

            "I sure hope you're right…I mean, it's not like there's much to worry about…it's been smooth sailing since---" a huge, underwater explosion interrupted her.  She cringed and gripped Ash's shoulder.

            Tina looked out at the explosion with wide eyes.  A loud, "Cool!" rolled off her tongue.

            "Not when you have her clinging to you like moss," Ash whispered to Tina as he tired to comfort Misty.

            Tina's smile disappeared as she saw Misty's terror.  She wondered to herself whether she should play on Misty's fear or give her a helping hand.  Her heart won out over her love of fun, and she patted Misty on the shoulder.  "It's just water.  Nothing to be scared of."

            "Scared?  …Who's scared?"

            "Uh…you'd better keep an eye on _him_; he's terrified.  Your boyfriend."

            At the same time, Misty said, "He's not my boyfriend," and Ash also denied, "I'm not her boyfriend!"

            "…Uh-huh, I noticed."              

            "What, are you one of those English students who always has to read between the lines in every last---" "You're blowing this way out of proportion!  We've just been friends for a long time, and---" "It's nothing you should make fun of, even if it were true, and it's not, so---" "You're not the first one to make this mistake, though, so don't feel too badly---"

            Tina smiled and added incredulously, "Riiiiiiiiiight…"

            "Oh, come _on!_" they both said at once.

            Tina shook her head and looked away, snickering.

            "Can you believe her?" Ash asked Misty under his breath.  He looked at Misty's face and instantly wished he hadn't asked that question.  "Ahem…so…what was that explosion, anyways?"

            Yolei, who had a walkie-talkie to her ear, answered the question:  "It was Cody.  He and Submarimon were fighting off a…robotic seal that fired blue lasers out its nose.  They won."

            Tina leaned over the edge rail of the deck, looking out over the ocean.  "Neato!  Youngdramon needs to get a piece of that action!"

            Yolei gripped Tina's hood and yanked her backwards.  "No, you don't!"  Yolei handed her the walkie-talkie and said, "Get in the cabin!  We don't want this thing to get wet."

            Tina knew that this was just overprotective-ness, but she complied.  She sat in the pilot's cockpit, sat down on a bench, and put her feet up.  "See anything interesting down there, Cody?"

            "_Nothing much; it's pretty quiet down here.  I like it "_

            "I barely understood you, but I'll take that as a 'no'."       

            "_It was a 'no', Yolei._"

          "I'm Tina, not Yolei.  She's being overprotective; she sent me into the cabin.  Now I know why they call it 'cabin fever'."

            "_You know, we really shouldn't be using this thing for casual conversation.  It's…hello!  I'm seeing another navy-seal…turn the ship hard starboard!_"

            " 'Turn the ship hard stubborn,' he says," Tina said to the pilot.  "What's that?  There's a navel steel?"

            "_That's navy seal, and it's attacking!_"  There was another explosion outside the boat, and a few blue beams of light went flying up from the water.  Tina saw everyone on deck get drenched from the ensuing explosions.

            "Boy, I'm glad I'm in here," Tina thought, looking at the windshield wipers whacking water away from the glass windows.  "Should we send down someone to help you out?"

            "_That would be nice, yes._"

            Tina stuck her head out the door.  "Cody could use some help, down there!"

            "**Betamon, digivolve to…Seadramon!**"  Seadramon flew down into the water and fired a chunk of ice out his mouth at the navy seals.  They were too quick to hit, but the distraction of Seadramon was enough to let Submarimon slice through a couple with the blade on his snout.

            "How's it going down there, Cody?" Tina asked.

            "_That was the last of the seals.  I'll keep you posted._"

            Tina turned to the captain.  "How's the fish intake doing?"

            "At this rate, we'll have a full net in a few hours."

            "A few hours of constant attacks…hmm…should be a good thing that we have umpteen water fighters along…"

            On deck, Misty was clutching Starmie's pokéball, and Ash had his hand on Squirtle's.  They didn't know exactly what was next, but they'd probably want their water pokémon for it.  Then, it came:  catamarine.

            "Aw, gimme a break!" Ash moaned.  "Squirtle, come on out!  …Huh?!"  Ash was in for another surprise:  it was Blastoise, not Squirtle.  "I…I don't believe it!"

            "This is not a bad thing, Ash!" Misty shot back.  "Starmie, go!"

            "Now, how does this guy go…what's its weakness?" he shouted to Kari.

            "Attack the joints of the legs and the head!" Gatomon answered.

            "You heard her, Blastoise!  Bubble beam!"  Blastoise aimed his two cannons at the catamarine and fired a pair of blue beams at its head.  Starmie joined him in firing a barrage of beams at the catamarine.

            "Not working!" Misty moaned.  "Oh, why can't pokémon ever get that big?"  The shots weren't hurting the catamarine much, but they were keeping it at bay.

            Seadramon jumped out of the water and began firing at the catamarine, too.  The freezing blasts from Seadramon were causing thermal stress against the catamarine's lava weapons, and so catamarine decided that Seadramon was a threat that took priority.

            "Tuli Dra Jalnor!"  It fired a stream of lava at Seadramon, and Seadramon was hit.  He regressed back to Betamon.

            It was at this exact moment that another too-close-for-comfort explosion rocked the ship in one direction.  A shiny, blue object flew out of Misty's front pocket and over the edge of the boat.  It landed on Betamon's belly.  "My water stone!" Misty shouted.

            "You have a water stone?"

            "I brought it in case we'd need another starmie; then I'd be able to evolve Staryu!"

            "Well, if Betamon has it…"

            Tina shouted into the walkie-talkie, "Cody, we have a digimon overboard!  Digimon overboard!  Betamon is out cold and in the water; you need to get him!"

            The situation got better:  there was _another _catamarine licking its chops for the ship…

GAZRIITOR:

Nickname: Navy Seal (Umidatōru)  
Real Name: Riidae-tor-zalo  
Caste: Ro Var'ka  
Modes: One  
Special Attacks:  
Dar Gazrii  
Comments:  
The navy seal is a water tor that is designed to attack boats and water digimon. It is capable of digesting biomass, but it is not programmed to attack humans. It has firepower between the rookie and champion levels, and is propelled by a speedy engine whose intake is the seal's mouth. While not as intelligent as a luftwaffle or mandroid, the navy seal is not very stupid as ator go. 

******

            Cleaver was stunned… "You saw a column of light, and it healed your arm?"

            "Uh-huh.  And, until I got out, I couldn't tell how long I was in there."

            "Hmm…my guess is that it's a temporal eddy."

            "A temporary what?"

            "Temporal eddy.  It's a whirlpool in time, essentially.  You remember when the Digidestined got their digimon to multiply in another world, right before they beat Malomyotismon?"

            "Yeah."

            "That was the same thing, another temporal eddy was in that world.  Those are time anomalies, and they're really unpredictable.  It's a good thing that only one of you came out of it."

            "What're we going to do about them?"

            Cleaver pensively sighed.  "Well…there's a way to get rid of them…all you need to do is channel enough subatomic energy into one."

            "Subatomic energy, huh?"

            "Radiation, magnetic fields, electric shocks…basically a strong enough special attack would do the trick."

            "Okay…if you say so.  But is it dangerous to have these 'temporal eddies' around?  I mean, the Digidestined seemed to find the one in that world pretty useful, and this last one sure was a help."

            "Well, getting rid of them is the only thing I can think of.  I don't know whether we could use them to our advantage or not.  Like I said, they're unpredictable."

            "Thanks anyways," Takato answered.  His shift was over, and so he walked to the cafeteria, hoping that Henry would be there.  He was.

            "So, how's Rika doing?"

            "She managed to cry, and she told me not to tell you about it."

            "What set her off?"

            "Seeing blood on a headhunter's spear.  I don't know what was going through her mind right then, but I think she's becoming…_sensitive_."

            "Sensitive, huh?  …Sounds like the kind of person you _wouldn't_ want on seek patrol.  There are some pretty nasty sights, from what I've heard.  You'd hate to hear what those menace machines are doing with the dead bodies, besides eating them."

            "Then don't tell me.  But…do you think I should suggest to her she should get off seek patrol?"

            "I don't know…she might take that as an insult."

            Takato nodded.  "Good point.  And what _would_ we do with her?  I don't think she should be sent down to being a cleaning maid, again."

            "That's true…but she's not all that warm a person, so she wouldn't make a good orphanage supervisor…so what's left?"

            "Lookout duty, I guess."

            Henry snapped his fingers. "Hey…that might be just the thing for her!  I mean, Renamon's Diamond Storm attack turned into Tine UZI, where she shoots all these little spikes rapid-fire out her wrists.  And it's digimon that can have rapid fire that we want for lookout duty, right?"

            "That's true.  I'll talk to Yolei…or…should I talk to Rika, first?"

            "Maybe…I guess you should ask Rika first."

            "I'll go do that."  Takato walked to Rika's room and knocked on the door.

             "_WHAT??!!_" Rika shouted angrily.

            "It's me!" Takato answered.

            "Go away!  You _know_ I'm not going to talk to you!"

            Takato pulled open the door.  Rika was sitting on her bed, and immediately whipped something behind her back as Takato entered the room.  "I said go away!"

            "This is about a…career change."

            "Go _awaaa-aaay_!"

            "Rika…you didn't seem to enjoy seeing even a little blood out there, and there are a lot worse things out there than a little blood stain on a spear.  So…I was wondering if you'd like to switch jobs with Henry?  He's on lookout duty, so…you wouldn't get such awful sights."

            Rika glared at Takato, thinking about what he was offering and hating him for intruding.  "I'll think about it.  Go away."

            "What's behind your back?"

            "GO AWAY!!"

            Takato took a few steps closer, and saw that the empty box for a teddy bear was next to her.  He also saw a fuzzy paw, clad in a fake-leather jacket, protruding from behind her back.  "Since when was a teddy bear something to hide?"

            Rika threw the bear at Takato fiercely.  "What do I have to do to get you out of my room?!"

            "Okay, okay!  I'm leaving!"  As he shut the door, he said, "Note to self:  do not confront Queen Resentment in her own personal space."


	32. Chapter 31: Turnabout is Fair Play

Chapter 31:  Turnabout Is Fair Play.

            Submarimon swam up under Betamon.  How he was going to get him back on the ship was a hard question; Submarimon had no arms…the only option is to lift him out on his back, drive up to side of the boat, and hope that someone would be able to pull him up somehow.  Submarimon felt something small tap his hull and come to a rest on his fin as he lifted Betamon…

            "**Submarimon, radio digivolve to…Kurodadumon, the unquestionably reliable guardian of the sea!**"

            "What?!"  Cody looked straight ahead, and there didn't seem to be anything unusual; there was still Submarimon's harpoon protruding from the front of the cockpit…but…Cody looked behind himself, and saw that his cockpit had just become the forearm of a much larger, lobster-like creature.  Kurodadumon had two arms; one had a harpoon and the other had a huge, two-bladed claw.  "Submarimon, you digivolved?"

            "I can't explain it, either.  But, for once, this is a good surprise!"  Kurodadumon flew up out of the water and deposited Betamon (and the water stone, although he never knew the stone was there) on the deck of the ship.  He turned to the catamarines.  "Planning on eating some fish?  Get your own!  Dreadnaught Barrage!"  He opened his claw, and a deluge of energy shots flew from the claw at one catamarine's head.

            The catamarine snarled and fired a few gobs of lava at him, but Kurodadumon was too quick. He clamped his claw down on the catamarine's head, and it was too much for the catamarine to take.  The other fell just as quickly.

            "Wow.  Just another way to get to ultimate," Yolei thought aloud.

            "But…how?" Kari asked.

            "It was this," Misty answered, holding up her water stone.  "These evolution stones let our pokémon evolve.  It must have the same effect on digimon."

            Ash cut in, "But Misty, Brock told me he tried to use his fire stone on a Tanemon, and it didn't work."

            "But what else could it be?"

            Kari cut in, "Hold it!  There's a difference between Tanemon and Submarimon:  Submarimon is an armor digimon.  Maybe the armor lets him use it, somehow."

            "Maybe…we'll have to test the theory sometime."

            The rest of the voyage was spent warding off attacks from other menace machines.  Even if there was only one navy seal in the attack, it would still relentlessly assault the ship---not that it had a chance of winning at all.  It was annoying, and Kurodadumon finally ended up tiring out and switching shifts with Ikkakumon.

            When there were no attacks, there was a heavy suspense that hung over the ship.  When was the next attack going to arrive?  How awful would it be?  Was there a typhoon over the horizon?  Would they lose their bearings and end up lost at sea?  The suspense was so severe that the attacks were sometimes a relief.

            Sometimes, the attacks weren't a relief, though:  the biggest threat was when two catamarines and a crackone appeared, flanking the boat on all sides.

            "Okay, _not good_!" Yolei gulped.

            "There's a way out of this, Yolei:  Izzy's not the only one with his crest back!  Ikkakumon, digivolve!"

            "**Ikkakumon, digivolve to…Zudomon!**"

            "Zudomon, the crackone has the most firepower!  Use his attacks on the other two!"

            "Will do, Joe!" Zudomon shouted as he dove underwater.  Zudomon didn't have to wait long for the aggressive crackone to open fire.

            "Tuli Telo Non!" it shouted at him, and a pair of green balls of energy flew at him.

            "I'm a little rusty at playing squash, but here goes nothing…  Vulcan's Hammer!"  He pounded the two shots with his sledge, one to each of the two catamarines.  The shots hit their heads squarely.

            It got better:  the crackone was too stupid to realize that its attacks were doing more harm than good.  It kept firing at Zudomon, and Zudomon kept knocking the shots into the catamarines.  The catamarines sank before long.

            "Now, it's just you and me, robo-sushi!"

            "Tuli Telo Non!"

            Zudomon reflected the shot back at the crackone, but the crackone was maneuverable enough to dodge.  "That didn't go so well…Vulcan's Hamm---" Zudomon began advancing on the crackone with his hammer ready to strike, but the crackone---although it was stupid---saw that coming.  It fired at the exact moment when Zudomon's grip was loosest, and the hammer went flying over the ship.

            "_NO!!_" Yolei shouted.

            Zudomon gulped.  "Okay, then…Taser Horn!" he shouted, firing bolts of electricity from his forehead.  The bolts scrambled the circuitry of the crackone for long enough for Zudomon to get his hammer back and make the crackone into scrap metal.

            The crew on the deck was tense.  They knew that the catamarines were finished, but---when Zudomon's hammer went flying---they thought he was a goner.  It was a huge relief when Zudomon came to the surface.  There were shouts of victory before he even said, "All clear!"

            There weren't more attacks worth noting for a while after that.  Finally, the captain said, "Time to get back to shore.  I think we've got as much fish as we're ever going to get."

            Tina relayed the message to the Digidestined and the crew on deck.  Zudomon regressed back to Gomamon, and they began pulling the net in.  It was a huge catch; the lack of people fishing for a while let the local fish population grow.  They had difficulty getting the net out of the water, even.  Everyone ended up with the stench of fish clinging to their rainsuits.

            Tina left the cabin, satisfied that the voyage was almost over.  She said to Yolei, "Looks like all that's left is to make it back in one piece."

            "Honey, get back in there!"

            "Mom, even if we get attacked, Swampangemon could just carry us back!  I've been cooped up in that cabin all morning!  I need some fresh air."

            Yolei frowned.  "All right.  But the first sign of trouble, and I want you back in the cabin."

            Fortunately for Tina, there was no sign of trouble---_yet_.  But her excuse for getting "fresh air" was a lame one:  the air above the ship stunk of dying fish.  The thought that she would be eating the fish tomorrow made her feel uneasy.  In fact, the thought of being lost at sea made her feel less uneasy than did the thought of those fish.  But, then again, that's the kind of girl Tina was:  she would rather be out in the "great white somewhere" than at home…eating dead fish.  But, then again, this surreal planet that Earth had become was basically one big "great white somewhere"…  Tina sighed.  She looked over at Youngdramon.  "Hey, Youngdramon!  You're eating that squid raw!"

            Youngdramon spat the beak over the deck of the ship.  "That's what they do in Japan.  It's called sushi."

            "I know what it's called, but that stuff put the salmon in salmonella (1)!  That squid could be riddled with anthrax!"

            "Oh, right!"  Youngdramon clutched her long neck and gagged, pretending to be dying.  "Oh!  Tell…tell Tina that my POG collection is in the safe deposit box at the bank!  ---oh!  OH!"

            Tina giggled.  Then, all of a sudden…WHAM!  A crackone slammed into the side of the boat, with its tentacles gripping the deck and its beak clapping.  The boat tilted in the crackone's direction, and a few people went rolling its way.  One of them was Ash…

******

            Pixie's life flashed before her eyes as she plummeted into the lava pool.  Of course, she didn't know about Metalgarurumon's abilities…

            "Metal Wolf Claw!"  A barrage of freezing missiles flew into the lava and turned it into a collection of warm, broken stones.  The stones were sharp, and Pixie felt them cut her as she went down.

            "Milady!" Big Blue shouted.

            "It's better than her burning to a crisp!" Matt shouted back.  "Gary, get rid of the other one the same way!"

            "Right!  Pokéball, go!"  The catamarine fell into the ball without a whimper of resistance.  Another incoherent scream of joy rose up form the cheerleading squad.

            "♪Gary, Gary, getting greater!  He's better than The Terminator!♫"

            "Riiiiiiight…" Matt murmured, not particularly wanting to know who "The Terminator" was.

            "Master Pixie!" Big Blue shouted, picking her up off the ground.

            "How is she?" Matt yelled, running towards Big Blue.

            "I don't know if she'll recover," Big Blue answered, shaking his head.

            "Hold on!  Medic!" Gary shouted to his pokémon.  He immediately began spraying super potion on Arcanine, Gyarados, and Nidoking.

            "What're you doing?" Matt yelled across the block to Gary.

            "Healing my pokémon!"

            "We have someone over here who needs it more than they do!"

            "In a minute!"

            "_NO_!  _Not_ in a minute!  She needs help, and she needs it now!"

            Gary acted as though this argument wasn't worth his time, and he continued spraying his pokémon with the potion.  "If she's alive now, she can wait a few seconds."

            "She's in pain and losing blood!  Your pokémon might've gotten hit with a hard attack, but they'll survive!  She might not!"

            "Ho-hum."

            "Metalgarurumon, take that medicine from him and bring it over here!" Matt shouted.  Gary was clearly wrong in letting Pixie down like this, and there just wasn't time to let Gary be a conceited brat.

            Metalgarurumon snatched the potion out of Gary's hands and brought it to Matt.  Matt read the instructions and began spraying Pixie's wounds.  They healed surprisingly quickly, but not before Gary walked up to Matt and yelled, "I wasn't done with that!  That's private property, and you can't just---!"

            "_You_ can't just let Pixie die!  If you can't give up your precious medicine for forty seconds to let her live, then you aren't mentally fit to use this stuff in the first place!"  Matt angrily shoved the potion into Gary's chest.

            Gary was taken aback, and just about believed what Matt said.  Then a "Gary's better than that mocker; Matt is just a big-mouthed talker!" snapped him out of his dismay (or back into his usual conceit-mode) and he answered, "Thank yew, ladies!"

            Big Blue scooped Pixie up and laid her in the same place where they had put Matt a few days ago.  "Looks like déjà vue," Pixie sighed.

            "I know," Matt agreed.  He scooped up more gauze that had been meant for him and wrapped Pixie's wounds in it.  "I'll get some more food for you.  You'll be fine."

            "Thanks…for saving me, Gabumon."

            "No problem.  Remind me to _catch_ you next time, though.  That way, this won't happen again!"

            Pixie was breathing heavily.  "Big Blue?"

            "Yes, milady?"

            "In future, we need to be ready to move when there's another attack like that one.  Unless Gary has an unlimited supply of those capturing balls, we'll need to be careful."

            "I do not recommend we deal with the boy.  He is arrogant and self-centered.  Not the best qualities for an ally."

            "True, but he has those healing potions and his pokémon are nothing to sneer at.  And those capture spheres…"  Pixie winced in pain and rolled over to try to alleviate the agony.  "His capture spheres are a major help."

            "Perhaps.  But the risks of his actions under pressure are too great."

            "You may be right…"

(1)  I'm sure that Japanese people think that Americans are just as sick-minded for eating raw vegetables as we think they are for eating raw fish.  Just to keep from offending them, I'll present both sides of the argument and say that our raw vegetables put the "choke" in "artichoke."


	33. Chapter 32: Trappings

NOTE:  Religious content near the tail end

Chapter 32:  The Trappings

         Ash caught himself on the siderail of the ship and found himself staring right into the open mouth of the crackone.  Like a real squid, the tentacles of this robot fanned out from the beak, so the squid took up Ash's entire view.  He felt like he was surrounded on all sides by this creature.  He tried to climb away from the crackone, but it was no use:  one of its tentacles smacked him back towards the open beak.

            Misty let out every pokémon she had to fight this beast, and she ran towards the crackone to pull Ash out of there---even if it would kill her to try.  At this point, her vocabulary shrank to one word:  a panicked, loud, "ASH!!!"

            "**Tibemon****, digivolve ****to…Savamon!**"

            "**Youngdramon, digivolve to…Ikudramon!**"

            Tina raced down to give Misty a hand in the tug-of-war while the pokémon and the two champion digimon kept the tentacles busy.  It was a hard-to-call tug of war; the arms that the crackone was using to pull Ash in weren't the strongest hydraulics ever seen.  First it looked like Ash would make it out, then it looked like Ash was about to get his leg bitten off.

            Then, the ultimate horror happened:  Misty began to lose her grip.  "ASH!!!"

            "This isn't going that well, is it?" Tina asked.

            Yolei screamed as she saw that Tina was in the line of fire.  She grabbed Tina around the middle and started trying to pull her away from the crackone.

            "**Hawkmon, digivolve to…Altairmon!**"

            "Hey, June!  I could use a hand, here!" Tina shouted.

            "I don't wanna get any closer to that thing!" June squeaked, keeping away from the crackone by staying at the bow of the ship.

            "If we don't DNA digivolve, then it'll eat all of us!"

            June whimpered and slowly crawled towards the fight.

            "Are you going to hurry up, or _what_?!"

            "Just…coming…but I---AAAAAAAA!" June screamed as she slipped on a stray fish.  She went sliding down towards the crackone.

            "Aw, great!" Tina decided it was worth the gamble to jump for June's digivice.

            Yolei made the mistake of blinking at this point:  after a split-second of having her eyes shut, she found that she was tightly gripping an arm that didn't belong to Tina.  She was tugging on Ash, and Tina was catching June.  Tina touched her digivice to June's.

            "**Ikudramon!**"

            "**Savamon!**"

            "**DNA digivolve to…Mermon!**"

            "Tina!" her mother yelled.  "Get out of here!"

            "Not this time, Mom!"  Tina got behind her mother and pulled, trying to get Ash out of the crackone's grip.  Mermon wasn't sitting still; she was trading shots with the crackone's laser eyes.

            Finally, it happened:  one of the tentacles splashed water on Ash, Misty, and Yolei.  The water made everything too slippery to hold on to.  Ash felt his leg go into the crackone's mouth.

            "You're not getting this one!" Mermon spat.  She charged at crackone.  "Mer Poleax!"  She drove her axe into the crackone's body and killed it.  The entire robot began to sink into the water, and Ash held onto the boat's railing for all he was worth.  The crackone sank away from him, and his leg came out of its mouth.  He looked down at the place where the squid was sinking.  It was making a pretty big splash as it went down.  He was breathing heavily, as were Yolei, Tina, and Misty.

            Misty didn't wait for anyone to say anything.  She threw her arms around Ash and squeezed him almost so hard he couldn't breathe.  Between sobs, a squeak rose from Misty's mouth:  "_Ash!_"

            What Misty didn't bother to notice was that, what with Ash not actually being on the boat, they were in great danger of falling off.  Before Misty knew what was happening, she was treading water.

            Mermon flew down and scooped the two up.  She set them back down on the boat and regressed back to Tibemon and Youngdramon.

            "How much more of this will we need to put up with?" Youngdramon asked.

            "Not much…I can see the shore," Tina answered.

            Yolei immediately began scolding Tina as furiously as she could.  Tina knew her mother was wrong and overprotective, so she ignored her mother's long, angry lecture.  She looked out across the water's surface, and she saw another vessel, just like their own fishing boat.  She remembered vaguely that this was their own boat, just from an earlier time period.  She heard her earlier self yell to her, "Any advice for me?"

            Thinking about what just happened to Ash, Tina shouted back, "Beware the sea-faring man with one leg!"

            Suddenly, Tina realized that this was what she had heard when she'd asked that question before.  So Tina burst out laughing and couldn't stop.

            "That was quick!" Brock shouted as he tied the ship to the dock.

            "Actually, there must've been some kind of time anomaly, because we saw ourselves going out, just now," June yelled back.

            "So you arrived and left at the same time?"

            "Looks that way."

            "Wow.  Hey Ash!" Brock shouted.  "I kept your hat safe for you!"

            "Thanks," Ash said as he climbed out of the boat onto the dock.  "I would've lost it if I'd brought it with me."

            "I believe it!  And---PEE-UUU!!!  Ash, you smell like a dead fish!"

            "That's what we've been surrounded with for the past five hours!"

            "How can you stand that?"  Brock suddenly noticed that Misty didn't look so great.  "…Misty, what happened to you?"

            Misty was still in shock, so she mewed, "It was awful!  But Ash…he's alive!"

            Brock looked at Ash, as if to ask, "What happened?"

            Ash explained, "A giant robotic squid almost got me back there."

            Brock was about to ask, "Why would that scare her so badly?" but he saw Tina first…and his hormones immediately kicked in.  But what was strange was that she was laughing---hysterically.  "H-hey Tina!" Brock said, with his cheeks tomato-red.

            "You'll never guess what happened!" Tina laughed.

            "What?  What happened?"

            "Well…"  Tina didn't finish her sentence before she burst out laughing again.

            "Personally, I don't think it's so funny," Youngdramon said to Brock.

            "What happened?"

            "While we were passing our past selves going out, she had a conversation with her past self.  Her past self asked her future self if she had any advice for her.  And the future Tina told her to 'Beware the sea-farin' man with one leg!' "

            Tina laughed all the harder at Youngdramon's impression of her.

            "Tina…you're scaring me.  You need to stop, but how can we get you to stop…" Youngdramon wondered.  "Oh!  Wait!  I know how to snap you out of it!  ♫♪Oh, Yo-leeeeiiiii?!! ♫♪  Tina's got an evil plan to go swimming with some crackones, later today!"  That got Tina to stop.

            "So…how do we get this load of fish back to the orphanage?" Altairmon asked.

            "You," Yolei answered, after she was done with scolding Tina.

            "…Could you rephrase that?"

            "Sure, we'll rephrase it," Yolei answered, beckoning Kari.  The two of them clapped their digivices together.

            "**Altairmon!**"

            "**Gatomon!**"

            "**DNA Digivolve to…Swampangemon!**  …I'm starting to see what you mean," Swampangemon answered.  "**Swampangemon, mode-change to…giga mode!**"  Swampangemon kneeled and opened her pockets.  "Climb in!  You'll have a comfortable ride in here."

            "No kidding?" Tina asked as she slid down into the pocket.  "Wow, she has this pocket lined with something!" Tina sighed and felt the soft, plush fabric against her skin.  "I could fall asleep on this stuff---"

            Brock was at the top, listening to all this.  All he could think about was how romantic it would be to have Tina leaning on his shoulder while she was asleep with an innocent, young girl's smile on her face.  He was about to slide down into the pocket himself, but Ash said, "You may not want to do that, Brock.  If you go in there with the rest of us, you'll probably get fish juice all over your clothes."

            Brock muttered in his hormone-induced stupor, "Aw, who cares about a little fish juice?"

            Realizing Brock was high on hormones, Misty snapped out of her shock, took Brock by the ear, and threw him into a different pocket.  "Lose it, Brock!" she shouted.

            "Good to have you back, Misty," Ash said.

            "Good to be back."

            Yolei slid into the pocket after Tina, and shouted down to her, "Don't go to sleep yet, Tina; you and I need to have a talk."

            Tina rolled her eyes.

            "Don't look at me like that, Tina!"

            "Mom, why is it that you punish me for everything good that I do?  I got the orphans video games and toys, and you yell at me.  I get us info on a dam that's about to wipe out a whole forest _and_ Tokyo _and _I save someone who's about to drown in it, and you demote me.  I save that boy's life, and you yell at me again?"

            "Tina…you take too many risks!"

            "So, next time, I heroically let the guy get eaten by a squid, leave Tokyo to drown, and let the orphans cry themselves to sleep each night…is that about it?"

            Yolei slapped her daughter across the face.  Almost crying, she yelled back, "Don't talk to me like that, Tina!  I'm not going to lose you to one of those menace machines, even if I have to chain you up in that orphanage to keep you safe!"

            "…_Mom_!" Tina shouted.  "This isn't about risks, is it?  You're just scared to lose me, aren't you?"

            "That's right, I'm scared!" Yolei half-shouted and half-sobbed.  "That's why you're not going anywhere!"

            "…Mom, I have a duty to perform as a Digidestined!  Do you think that I'd have Youngdramon if I wasn't supposed to be out there fighting?"

             "Tina, _please_ stay in that orphanage.  You can follow your calling in less dangerous ways."

            Tina thought it over.  She knew her mother was wrong, but she didn't want to see her hurting…  "Mom…maybe you're right…"

            "_Thanks_," Yolei whispered, wiping away another tear.

******

            When Tina entered her room, Rika was inside.  Her shift had ended as watchdog, and so she was trying to get to sleep.  Rika found sleeping a difficult job, and her job got more difficult when she heard the noise of Tina and Youngdramon loudly coming in and an annoyingly loud snort of disapproval from Renamon.  It became especially tough after the smell of dead fish reached her nose.  "_Oh!_" Rika shouted.  "For crying out loud, take a shower once in a while!"

            Tina snickered.  "I bet you're glad you didn't have to come along on that fishing trip!"

            "If that's what it smelled like, then _yes_.  I am glad."

            "Well, you get used to it after a while."

            "I'm not getting used to it!  Change out of that thing and get it to the laundry, already!"

            Tina tore off the suit and tossed her pajamas over her shoulder.  "That's just what I'm planning to do.  Excuse us."

            "I was wondering if I shouldn't excuse you when you first walked in," Rika muttered.

            Rika began to try to get to sleep again, and it just wasn't working.  It was a long time before she managed to doze off, and when she finally did, Tina barged in and ruined her siesta.  Rika groaned.  "Why do you have to be so loud?!  I've been trying to get to sleep for the past five hours!"

            "What?  We haven't been gone more than a half an hour!"

            "My watch said it was nine when you left, and it says it's two in the morning, now."

            "Wha---!  Time fields _inside_ the nuke plant?" Tina stammered.

            "Well, is there really anything that can _stop_ time fields from going anywhere?" Youngdramon said.

            "Good point.  Time to look into this."  Tina pulled on another pair of overalls and a sweatshirt.  She walked out of the room and began asking around to see if other people had felt the effects of the time field, and she deduced that there was a time field in the women's bathroom.  This was not good.

            Tina walked into her mother's office, and Yolei immediately stood up and spat, "You're supposed to be in bed, young lady!  You can't just---"

            "Mom, this is important!"

            Yolei let out a disappointed sigh.  "Okay, but make it quick."

            "…Quickness is kind of the problem.  You see, there's a time field in the girl's room.  It's slowing time inside it so that when someone goes in, they think that they've been in there a few minutes when it's really more like an hour."

            "…Whoa…it's good that you told me about this, but, in the future, respect your bedtime and leave the investigating to your father.  Now, get to bed…_I mean **now**_!  You have a duty shift in the morning at the orphanage."

            Tina looked down at the ground and sighed.  "Okay, Mom."

            A few hours later, Yolei and Ken were talking.  "Honey, you know how…I don't mean to insult you, but you remember how you kind of went astray while you were the Digimon Emperor?"

            Ken looked at her, surprised.  "What about it?"

            "I…I'm afraid that Tina might've gotten some of those going-astray genes from you---not just the smart genes."

            "It's just wanderlust, Yolei.  Tina's a growing girl, and she's going to be looking for more freedoms from us."

            "That's the point; how can she get freedoms from us and still stay here in the nuke plant?"

            "If she has my smart genes, then she'll know not to leave the nuke plant.  But if you restrict her in here too much, then she might learn not to think for herself---or she might outright decide to disobey you whenever you tell her to do something she doesn't want to do."

            "What're you saying?"

            "I'm saying…maybe it's not such a good idea to keep her off seek patrol forever."

            "But…_but_…"

            "I heard from several people what happened with Ash and that crackone.  If it hadn't been for Tina, Ash would be dead, right now…and maybe June, too.  She knows how to handle herself in battle, and she can keep a cool head.  She might do us more good out there than in here.  I know she's a sunbeam, and that the little ones in the orphanage need someone like her to spread hope and joy, but she's also a good fighter."

            Yolei buried her face in her hands.  "You know what happened with that deer!"

            "That shows that Tina has a big heart.  Maybe it was a bad judgment call, but we can have June or someone else make the decisions when we send her out."

            "I couldn't stand to lose her!"

            "Honey…I don't want to see her die any more than you do.  But it wouldn't be fair to hold her back.  How many other parents have lost their children, or how many children are orphans?  She's a Digidestined, just like you and me.  That means that she has responsibilities to this planet and to God, and it's not right for us to hold her back."

            Yolei buried her face in her hands.  Ken sat down next to her and wrapped his arms around her.  "It's nothing we need to take care of tonight, honey.  I'm scared of what'll happen if we put her back on seek patrol, too…"

            "But…!"

            Ken sighed.  "Yes:  **_but_**…"


	34. Chapter 33: Determinatons

Chapter 33:  Determinations

            "You mean that we're going to have to use the _boys_ room?" Misty asked, her mouth wide open.

            Tina insisted, "I'm not making this up!  Look!  See for yourself!"  The door to the women's room was barred shut---with Youngdramon's duct tape.  That was suspicious:  what if this was a prank?  This was just the kind of thing at Tina and Youngdramon would do as a prank.  Misty frowned.  "When I hear it from Yolei, I'll believe it."

            Tina's mouth fell open.  Since when was _she_ an unreliable source?  Tina was still bewildered as she sat down on the Couch of Wisdom, where---as usual---Davis was sitting, eating tortilla chips, and watching television.  Tina asked Davis, "If I told you the women's room had a time field in it, would you believe me?"

            Not taking his eyes off the television set, Davis nodded.  "It fits in with my theory that sheer femininity can cause rifts in the fabric of space-time."

            He was asking for it, and he got it:  Tina gave his goggles a pull and let them snap back onto his forehead for that remark.  "Seriously, there is one!  I don't know how it got in, or how long it'll stay, but I know we can't use the women's room because what seems to be five minutes in there is more like half an hour out here!"

            Still nursing his forehead (and his eyes still not leaving the screen), Davis spat, "So no difference from before, huh?"

            Tina rolled her eyes.  "Look, I didn't come here so you could mock me and my gender to death!"

            "Then don't be so sarcastic, yourself.  If you're sarcastic, then you're asking for other people to have the same attitude about you."

            "Whoa…am I that much of a pain in the neck?"

            "Yep."

            "…Seriously, am I?"

            "Nope."

            Tina sighed.  "I began this conversation in the first place because Misty refused to believe me when I told her that there was a time field in the women's room.  Why didn't she believe me?"

            "Because you cried wolf one too many times."

            "Huh?"

            "There's an old proverb about this shepherd kid.  As a prank, he yelled 'There's a wolf eating my flock!' to the rest of his village.  There wasn't a wolf, of course; he'd lied through his teeth just to get them in panic mode.  He thought that prank was fun, so he did it again and again.  He cried 'wolf!' so much that the village didn't believe him, even when there actually _was_ a wolf eating all his sheep."

            "So…you think my flock's going to get eaten?"

            "There's the wolf, right now!" Davis answered as Misty walked into the room.

            "…How can you tell when people are walking into the room when you don't turn your head and look at them?" Tina asked.

            "I heard her."

            "Oh…well, that explains it."

            Misty didn't make eye contact with Tina because she was ashamed:  she hadn't believed Tina, even when it was the truth.  However, there was a far more insidious problem at hand:  what alternative was there for the girls than to use the men's bathroom? Yes, this _was_ a problem. First of all, the nasty remarks scratched into the stall walls had to be painted over, before they met softer eyes.

            Later that day, Ash walked into the men's room, and he could hear the chatter of several girls inside.  He heard so many that he wondered if he shouldn't keep away, but then again, all he had to do was wash his hands from the kitchen work he'd been doing:  he'd be in and out of there in less than a minute.  So he walked in, heading straight for the sinks.  The second he walked in the door, the conversation in the room fell to a dead silence.

            Ash was stunned at the sudden, eerie silence.  "Don't _do_ that!!" he yelled.  "That creeps me out when you suddenly stop talking like that!"

            Mimi let out a little yelp of surprise right before she remembered that the bathroom was now serving both genders.

            "I am never going to get used to having a _boy_ in here!" Sora sputtered.

            "_What_ is the bathroom to you?  The Holy of Holies for the girl's mind, or something?"

            "Well, what do _you_ do when you come in here?"

            Ash gave her a look that said, "You know the answer to that question."

            "You don't talk with the other boys at all?"

            "No more than usual.  Maybe even a little less than usual.  What do _you_ talk about in your bathroom?"  Silence answered Ash's question.  "…Oh, I get it.  Is this about me?"

            After a pause, Sora answered, "No...It's not that..."

            Ash rolled his eyes and made a mental note to wash his hands in the kitchen.  "Oh, never mind!  Just let me wash my hands and get out of here so you can get back to talking about me!" Ash could feel their eyes burning a hole in the back of his jacket. He knew they were waiting for him to get out of the room.  _Man,_ he thought to himself, _I am going to need to stop getting my hands dirty!  Now I know why everyone is always wearing gloves around here! _"Since when was it such a terrible thing to have a boy around while you talk?" he asked.

Silence was his answer.

"Okay...I'm out of here...you can talk again." Just to see what would happen, Ash stood just out of sight, beside the bathroom door. The conversation slowly started up again, but he couldn't tell what it was about. Ash shook his head and thought to himself, _I can't wait until this time field leaves!_

******

            Tracy, Tai, Kari, and T.K. were on seek patrol.  They'd wished that they could take along Cody and Yolei for the excursion in case a DNA digivolve was necessary, but both of them were getting sleep and recovering from the digivolutions they'd gone through on the fishing trip.  Kari and T.K. were along because both their digi-eggs had become golden eggs, and golden-armored digimon tended to have about ultimate-level power.

            Rain was steadily falling out of the gray sky.  The pavement was slippery with water, and the noise of the rain made it difficult to hear.  Both T.K. and Kari were carrying their digimon inside their raincoats to keep them dry.  "Don't fall asleep, Patamon," T.K. warned.  "If there's an attack, then we'll want you not to be tired, so that you'll have a clear head to fight."

            Gatomon cut in, "Actually, I'd better be the first to armor-digivolve.  As Quadrigamon, I'll have better speed in case we need a fast getaway."

            "You don't know the definition of the word 'speed' until you see Metatronmon!" T.K. shot back.  "He doesn't even need to move to get from point A to point B; he can teleport!"

            "Wow…that's fast, all right."

            "Just like a kadabra!" Tracy added.

            "A what?" Tai asked.

            "I'll show you," Tracy answered, whipping out a sketchpad and pencil.  In less than two minutes, he had a sketch of a kadabra for them.

            "Whoa.  How'd you get so good a drawing?"

            "Not drawing, _sketching_.  And it took four years of practice and experience."

            "I guess hard work pays off!" Tai said.

            Kari snapped, "You might want to try it, sometime."

            "Oh, shut up!  You don't even know what work is!  _You_ try dealing with foreign digimon executives who want rights to have a quota of humans that they can _eat_!"

            After a few more minutes, they found a curtain of luftwaffles draped across a skyscraper's side.  "Okay…not good," Kari thought aloud.  "If I were on seek patrol on a sunny day, I sure wouldn't want those things ruining my fun!"

            Tai nodded.  "If you can call it fun---but how can we destroy something that big?"

            "I have an idea," Gatomon answered.  "We just blow up all the top ones!  The rest will have nothing holding them up, so they'll all fall down!"

            "Right, good idea.  But how do we destroy _all_ of them?  Does any of our digimon have an attack that can take them out?"

            "Metatronmon does!" T.K. declared.  He held up the golden egg of hope.  It looked kind of like an astrolabe; it was made of three circles that were put together to make a sphere.  In the middle of the sphere, there was a set of empty armor that looked vaguely angelic.  "**Golden armor, energize!**" he shouted.

            "**Patamon, golden-armor digivolve to…Metatronmon, the angel of hope!**"

            Metatronmon was an angel, covered in golden armor, and surrounded by golden wheels.  He had a sword at his side that he drew immediately.  The wheels surrounding him came together to form a single wheel, which gave him better mobility for his sword.  He flew up and sped along the top of the skyscraper's luftwaffle-covered side.  "Archangel Sword!" he shouted, letting his sword slice apart the luftwaffles as he went.  The curtain went crashing to the ground, and a pile of broken-to-pieces luftwaffles blocked the street.

            Tracy finished a sketch of the luftwaffles just as the curtain fell.  "Cleaver's going to need to add this to his files."

            Metatronmon landed.  "So…now what?"

            "If you go back to Patamon now and rest up, you'll get back your energy more quickly."

            "Good idea."  The golden egg of hope flew into T.K.'s hands and he put it in his pocket.  He hurriedly scooped Patamon up into his poncho before Patamon became too wet.

            "So…_now_ what?" Patamon repeated.

            "One place where we haven't looked for people yet in is inside the buildings," T.K. pointed out.

            Tai sighed.  "That's because it'd take too long to search them all."

            Kari cut in, "But where else would you go if you were trying to hide from man-eating monsters and trying to get shelter from weather that's generally as bad as this---if not worse?"

            "Good point," Tai nodded.  "But what can we do?"

            Agumon thought aloud, " (1) If the mountain won't come to Mohammad…maybe we could get the people to come to us instead!"

            "How would we do that?"

            "Well, the people have to leave to find food and water every now and again, so if we could leave a note by the doors of these buildings that the people won't miss, then we might be able to get them to come to us."

            "But how would they survive?  If they would get attacked on the way to the nuke plant, who'd protect them?"

            T.K. said, "Hold on…what if we put a something on the paper, like, 'if you want to try to get to the nuke plant, then write check-mark on the box, and when we come back and look at the paper, we'll know to bring you back'?"

            "It's worth a shot.  We'll have to get the idea to Yolei when we get back.  But in the meanwhile, what do we do?"

            Tracy cut in, "There aren't that many places to get food and water left, thanks to the fact that we've taken almost everything for the refugees.  We should try to go to a convenience store, and see if we can find anyone there."

            "It's worth a try," Kari agreed.

            They made their way to the convenience store that had once belonged to Yolei's family.  Her parents had sold it and had been living in Hawaii for their retirement before they died.  The six of them stepped inside.  Patamon and Gatomon stretched as they began standing on their own feet instead of being carried.  "So…what's the plan, do we just wait for people to come?"

            Tai shook his head.  "For all we know, there might be people living here, already, hiding from those menace machines out there.  If I were them, I'd keep out of sight---especially if there was someone coming in."

            "Patamon, you smell anybody?" T.K. asked.

            "There were humans here a minute ago, even if they aren't here, now."

            "Any digimon?"

            "Don't think so, no."

            "Well…where would _you_ hide if you were a human being, and didn't want some man-eater to find you…?" Kari wondered.

            T.K. walked to the back door.  He wished that Yolei had been there; she would have a better idea of the layout of the store than he did.  He knocked lightly on the door.  "Hello?  Anybody in there?" he asked.  There was no answer.  He slowly opened the door and shone a flashlight inside.  "Hello?" He aimed the light this way and that, scaring rats and cockroaches to find new hiding places.  _Eww__,_ he thought to himself, _this place is run-down!  Time getting messed up sure took its toll on this place…_  His light shone on the tip of a shoe that protruded from behind a box.  _Now, why would a shoe be in the back of a store that doesn't sell shoes---unless somebody was wearing that shoe?_ T.K. yelled in the direction of the shoe, "I can see you're there.  I didn't come to hurt anyone, I just came to ask if---"

            A woman jumped up from behind the box with a pistol in her hands.  "Hands up!  Don't make me shoot you!"

            T.K. recognized that this woman was Yolei's mother.  His mouth dropped open.  "You're…you…!"  T.K. shone the flashlight on his face, hoping she'd recognize him.

            "T.K.?!" she stammered.

            "Mrs. Inoue, I'm as surprised to see you as you are to see me!"

            "What'd you find, T.K.?" Patamon asked.

            Mrs. Inoue looked at Patamon, and a yelp of alarm shot out of her mouth.  She fired the gun in his direction, but missed by about three centimeters.  Patamon jumped into the air, readying his Boom Bubble attack.

            "Patamon, _stop_!" T.K. yelled.  "Mrs. Inoue, you have nothing to be afraid of Patamon for!"

            "That's another one of those…those _things_, isn't it?"

            "_He_ has been my friend for about thirty-four years!"

            "You haven't been alive for thirty-four years, T.K.!"

            "Yes, I have…and, from what I can remember, you're supposed to have died five years ago!"

            "You're scaring me, T.K.!  And you don't want to scare a woman with a gun in her hands!"

            "Listen, calm down, Mrs. Inoue.  Your memory was erased."

            "My memory?!"

            "Listen, I can explain all of this---well, some of it.  I know where Yolei is."

            "Where is she?  I want to see my baby!"

            "She's at the Ukitachi Nuclear Plant, west of here.  I've been living there for the past four months with her and a whole bunch of other people.  Now…what's the last thing you remember before all this started?  What was the date?"

            "It was…December, 1997…there was supposed to be a huge snow storm coming, and---we were selling out…and then I woke up and the weather hasn't changed from this rain for a week!  There haven't been any shipments coming in, but we've had people come and rob the store.  But not for money, for food and water.  And there have been a couple attacks from these metal robot-thingies…one of them attacked my husband yesterday, and he was hurt…and he's not getting any better."

            "All this is because time has been completely messed up.  We don't know how or why, or what these metal robots are.  We _call_ them menace machines, but we don't know where they come from or why."

            "You seem to know a lot about Patamon, there," Mrs. Inoue mused, waving her gun in his direction and making him stop peeking around the corner or the door.

            "He's not one of them.  Digimon have been walking the Earth since 2001, even though you can't remember it.  And those menace machines _aren't_ digimon.  Digimon disappear when they die; menace machines turn into scrap metal."

            "Did you say…2001?  What're you talking about?"

            "Last I remember it, it was the year 2028.  Then, someone destroyed the Digiworld, and…ohhhh!" T.K. slapped his forehead.  "I keep forgetting you don't know what I'm talking about!"  T.K. paused to consider what he should say next.  "Listen, we don't know why, but these menace machines won't come within half a kilometer of the nuke plant.  That's why everybody's staying there.  If you can come with us, then you'll be safe there, and we can get a doctor to look at Mr. Inoue's wounds."

            She stood there a moment, considering the offer.  "How long would it take to get there?"

            "A few hours' walk."

            "What about the menace machines?  What'll we do if they show up?"

            "We digivolve."

            "What?"

            "You'll see.  Let's just say that Patamon doesn't stay the way he looks now forever."

            She thought some more… "How will we move my husband?"

            "On Greymon's back."

            "Greymon?"

            "There are more creatures like Patamon that are on our side, Mrs. Inoue.  Most of them are made of flesh-and-blood, not metal, like those machines.  One of them that's here is a huge dinosaur that we can ride back."

            "All of us?"

            "I don't see why not."

            Mrs. Inoue put her gun back in her pocket.  "…Then let's get moving."  She added to herself, _I must be nuts!  But it's worth the gamble if it means my husband can see a doctor_.

******

            "Sir, our project is nearing its completion.  But there are a number of drawbacks.  We require another element in order to finish."

            "What do you recommend to obtain it?"

            "I believe capturing one like the previous may do the trick…if we examine the digivice, we may at least get an idea how to generate a lens of our own.  Ideally, we would be able to steal or copy a lens of our own, but that may not be possible."

            "Do what you judge to be more likely to succeed.  But make sure your judgment is sound; I will not have this project delayed, and I do not wish to report a failed project of this magnitude.  I obtained the prototype template myself, so make certain you make good use of him.  And what of the escapee?"

            "We…are close to a solution."

(1) The complete phrase is "If the mountain won't come to Mohammad, Mohammad will come to the mountain."  Basically, it's a hackneyed saying that, put in context, doesn't really have much to do with Islam.

AUTHOR'S NOTES:

            I always wanted to make Tina snap Davis with those goggles!  And about Davis's comment about sheer femininity causing rifts in space-time?  That is not my sentiment; it isn't really his, either.  He only said that to tick Tina off, and we both know he _never_ would've said that if Kari had been in the room.

One other thing: that was one of my favorite lines in Operation: Salvage Earth: "Listen, I can explain all of this---well, some of it."


	35. Chapter 34: Guess Who is Back for More

Chapter 34:  Guess Who's Back For More

            It had never occurred to Yolei that the messing up of time would allow her to see her dead mother and father.  It was weird that some good would come out of all this temporal evil.  Yolei had her face buried in her mother's belly, and both were squeezing each other half to death in a hug.

            Somehow, Davis was aware of this emotional reunion without turning his head, and he turned up the volume on the television set for the impending emotional conversation.  He couldn't understand the words that Yolei and her mother were saying; what entered his ears was a bunch of incoherent squealing.  He rolled his eyes at the thought that he might have to share the bathroom with someone who made such squealing noises:  in the bathroom, that squealing would echo until his ears exploded.

            He turned up the television set a little more and waited for the two to be done, expecting to have to wait a long while.

            "Mom, who is that?" Tina asked, interrupting the conversation.

            "This is your grandma, Tina!"

            Tina's face grew a little pale, but it made sense that a few people would be back from the dead if time was so messed up.  Tina didn't remember much about her grandmother, and time had erased her grandmother's memory, so she remembered nothing whatsoever about Tina.

            "I…I can't believe that all this is happening," Mrs. Inoue said as she collapsed on the couch, next to a chip-munching Davis---who, as usual, did not take his eyes off the television set.

            "Well, it is," Davis answered.

            She was breathing heavily.  "Davis?"

            "Yep?"

            "Is that really you?"

            "Who else would it be?  Fabio?"

            "I don't think so."

            "Rats."  There was a short pause.  Then Davis added, "Relax.  Everyone's out of place, here…you're not the only one who can't remember anything.  We have a few thirty-year-olds who don't remember how to speak!"

            "Ouch."

            "I've seen them, and I was just thinking...it's hard to say what those people think when they see digimon."

            "I know what you mean…and I know what I think when I see a digimon!"

            "Can't remember past 1998?  That was before digimon first came to live on Earth.  So…you're not used to people that aren't _human_ walking around, are you?"

            "No, I'm not."

            "Don't worry. You'll live."

            "You're sure?"

            "No."

            She sighed.  "So…what am I supposed to do now?"

            "Sit tight in the shelter and let the professionals handle it."

            "I take it that's what you're doing?" Mrs. Inoue asked.

            "Nope.  I _am_ a professional."

            She looked him over…a professional _couch potato_, maybe?

            "Don't look at me like that!  I don't spend _all_ my time in front of the television set, you know."

            "What do you do?"

            "You saw Agumon digivolve to Greymon?"

            "Yeah…"

            "Tai has the ability to make Agumon digivolve.  I have the ability to make Veemon digivolve."

            "Is that him over there, in the helmet?" she asked, pointed to Veemon…who lay asleep on the couch, as usual.

            "Yep."

            "Great…this planet's doomed!"

            "Oh, shut up."

            Behind their backs, Tiger was walking into Yolei's office to ask for a reassignment.  He didn't want to come out and say it, but he wanted to be with Renamon, on duty _or _off-duty.  He said to Yolei, "I'd like to switch jobs from Takato's accompaniment to lookout duty."

            "Oh?"

            "Uh, yeah.  I heard you're looking for digimon who can dispense a lot of firepower in a little time.  I know from a test we did earlier that the digi-egg of friendship works on me, and Davis is off duty---uh, on the shift I could be on, so you can give the digi-egg to Rufu...I mean, whoever my partner ends up being."

            "Hmm…I'll think about it.  What do you turn into when you module-evolve?"

            "Thunderdog.  My special attacks are Jacob's Ladder and Thunder Claw."

            "I see…"

            "In this form, I have Lightning, Blizzard, and Snow Bomb, and Snow Bomb is a pretty rapid-fire attack."

            "Hmm…I'll check what's open and keep you posted."

            Tiger passed Hare on the way out of the office, and Hare shot Tiger a dirty look.

            "What?" Tiger asked.  He didn't get an answer.

            Hare walked into the office, and saw that Yolei was working at the schedule.  "Any openings?" Hare asked.

            "A few."

            "Any in lookout duty?"

            "Funny you should ask…now that you've asked, there are a pair of transfer requests here…and that opens up a new shift, and it's during Davis's off-hours, so you'll be able to module-evolve if there's a problem.  Can you start tomorrow at noon?"

            "Absolutely."

            Hare walked away with an unsure look on his face.  This was to get close to Renamon, and maybe get to know her better…_maybe_ their relationship wasn't totally unsalvageable…

******

            Pixie sipped the broth Matt had made.  "Hmm…tastes a whole lot better than anything **_I_** made."

            "I was living with my dad without a mother, so I learned a lot about how to cook," Matt said.

            "I see…how did she die?"

            "She didn't.  My mom and dad had a divorce."

            "They did _what_?!  You…you can end marriages on this planet?"

            "Well…yeah.  Can't they on your world?"

            "Not at all---not even _before_ they have children, let alone afterwards."

            "Well, they can on this planet---in fact, I've heard that, in some places, more than half of all marriages end up in divorce."

            Pixie's head swam with a combination of pain form her wounds and surprise that such a vile society could exist.  "On my world, marriages last beyond death; even a widower can't marry another woman.  And if you end a marriage, sometimes the other villagers will hang you _and_ your wife, even if your wife hasn't had any say in it!"

            "Whoa…that's not like things are around here.  Here, you can do just about anything, and everybody will treat it like it doesn't mean anything---like it's your business.  I don't think it's always been that way, but that's how it was---before _they_ attacked."

            "Who?"

            "I don't know…Gabumon and I saw a whole bunch of them.  They looked like these little gremlins.  They had huge ears, they were about ten centimeters high, and they spoke a weird language I couldn't understand."

            "What did they do once they captured you?"

            "I don't know.  They shot me with a weapon of some kind, and then I woke up hanging from those chains.  What they did in between is anybody's guess."

            "I see.  But what if---"

            "Here they are!"  There was a loud shout coming from a man standing in the door of the pharmacy.  He wore a blue shirt and had his brown hair slicked back.  "You thought you could live after the Linonian Empire decided you were to die, Mr. Ishida?  You have no idea what you're up against!"

            Matt gripped his digivice, hoping that this wasn't as bad as it looked---although he knew that, if this man was with whatever digimon those gremlins were, then Gabumon would have to get into action---_fast_.

            The man was making a move:  he was raising his arm, which was holding the same weapon that he'd seen the gremlins use on him before he went out in the lab.  Before his arm made it to a firing position…

            "**Gabumon, digivolve to…Garurumon!**"  Garurumon knocked over the man and sent the weapon skidding across the floor.  "You're not putting Matt back in those chains!  Who are you, and who are you with?!"

            The man touched Garurumon with his knee, and Garurumon felt an odd sensation in his chest, and he blacked out…


	36. Chapter 35: Tongueless: A Ship Without a...

Chapter 35:  Tongueless:  A Ship Without A Rudder

            "So…I can finally go out on seek patrol?" Ghenki asked.

            "Yes.  You can use one of these," Cleaver explained, holding up one of the gremlin's weapons.  "It'll give you another way to fight back if anything goes wrong.  You push the switch forward to fire."

            "Okay.  I've always wanted another long-range attack…"

            "Well, now you've got one."

            "And thanks…I mean, I've been cooped up in here so long, I can't believe it.  I've got such a case of cabin fever that it might spread into an epidemic and kill all the refugees in here."

            "Hmm…well, we'd better get you cured.  Have Yolei assign you to someone's group."

            Yolei set Ghenki up with Ash and Misty.  Ghenki hadn't seen either of them for a while, and when he saw Misty, he noticed that she had on her new pants---pants of a kind he hadn't seen often.  "Misty?" he asked, pointing to her pants.

            "Like them?" she asked.

            "Well…I didn't know that they made pants out of sheet metal."

            Misty frowned.  "It's denim, vinyl, and glitter, not metal!  I figured I should wear long pants if it was going to be cold out like it was on that boat trip.  So…what do you think?  They're very me, aren't they?"

            "With fake armor like that, I think you're asking for an anti-tank missile to the kneecaps!"

            Misty frowned again, then rolled her eyes.

            As they were walking together, Ash asked, "So…I heard that you weren't from this universe, either."

            "Nope.  I wasn't even on my home planet before I got here; this is my second time of getting sucked into another world."

            "Wow.  What happened to pull you out of your home world the first time?" Misty asked.

            "I was just playing a new video game---one I was a champion at---and all of a sudden, the game sucked me in."

            " 'Sucked you in'?"

            "I became part of the game.  I can't explain it; one minute, I saw Holly and Suezo in the game, like it was some kind of opening sequence. The next minute, I get sucked in, and I've been traveling for months with Holly and those other Monsters you met."

            "Wow."

            Ash cut in, "You think you'll ever get back to your home planet?"

            "I don't know.  I hardly even care…I can't explain that either.  It's not that I don't miss my family…my mom was really nice.  But I like adventure better than living in a house all the time, with the same school every day…and, after I'm done with school, the same job every day."

            "Sounds like a regular case of wanderlust," Ash noted.  "I know the feeling---back when I first became a pokémon trainer, I couldn't wait to leave my house and go on a pokémon journey.  I'll admit it might've been so I could get out of school…"

            Ghenki chuckled.  "I'd take facing man-eating, weird creatures over homework any day!"

            Ash laughed.

            Misty hissed, "Will you shush up?  If those things hear us---!"

            The roar of a saberstrike behind them cut Misty off.

            Pikachu jumped off Ash's shoulder to face the saberstrike.  "Pikachu, thunderbolt!"

            "Hin Tarr!"  The saberstrike used its heat rods to reflect the bolt of electricity away from himself.

            "Aw, great…!  Pikachu, try Swift attack!"  Pikachu shot a barrage of yellow stars at the saberstrike, and the saberstrike tried and failed to deflect them all.  He was knocked backwards, but he was still alive.

            The saberstrike let out a loud, bloodcurdling roar, and several more saberstrikes came out to join with their hurt friend.

            "Hoo, boy!" Ash murmured.  "Charizard, Pidgeot, Heracross, I choose you!"

            Misty let out her pokémon, too.  "Horsea, go!  Use smokescreen!"  The street filled with smoke, and, when the smoke cleared, the machines couldn't find Ash, Misty, or Ghenki.  Pidgeot, Charizard, and Heracross had picked them up and flown them up to the roof of a nearby building.  They were twenty stories high, and out of sight of the machines.

            Misty let out a sigh of relief.  "Glad we came up with that escape plan!" she whispered.

            "No kidding.  But---you think we'll ever find a menace machine that has infra-red vision, or something, that will be able to see us through the smoke?"

            "Good question.  But---"

            Again, a loud cry interrupted Misty.  It was the scream of a humbug, and its scream was supposed to alert other machines that there were targets nearby.  Pikachu fried the humbug in a second, but not before the saberstrikes below started combining into spiderstrikes so that they could fly up and attack.

            "Any ideas?" Ash asked.

            Ghenki answered, "As long as they're flying, they can't shoot up at us.  If they fired, then their shots would slice through their own helicopter blades and they'd get grounded.  They'll need to make it up here before they can start to attack.  It's our best move to shoot them down now."  Ghenki began firing at the spiderstrikes with his weapon.

            "Gotcha.  Starmie, Staryu, go!  Use Swift attack on those!"

            "Blastoise, come on out!  Use Bubble beam on those spiderstrikes!  Charizard, use Flamethrower!"

            Before long, the machines were scrap metal.  Misty and Ash called back their pokémon, and Ghenki put his weapon back in his pocket.  "So…now what?" Ghenki asked.

            "We climb down the stairs of this building and get back to seek patrol.  And tell anyone we meet in the building about the nuke plant."

            "Right."

            Their climb down was uneventful, until they hear a small whimper.  Ash turned around.  "Misty, Ghenki…I thought I heard something back there."

            "Is that good or bad?" Misty asked.

            "Good question," Ghenki remarked.  "Do we check it out?"

            "I think checking it out comes with the job description," Ash answered.

            Misty gulped and followed Ash into the room.  Ash slowly opened the door.  "Hello?  Anybody in here?"  The room was dark, so he flipped on the light switch, but no light came on.  He flipped it a few more times, and nothing happened.  "Hmm---!  No power."  He fished a flashlight out of his backpack, and shone it around the room.  It came upon a girl who was curled up in the corner.  Through the dust room, Ash couldn't tell much about her, but he knew that she wasn't wearing much---if anything at all.  She looked like she was about six or seven.

            He heard Misty gasp behind him, and the girl cringed upon being seen.

            "It's okay!" Ash shouted to her.  He pulled a blanket out of his backpack.  Ash moved forward to wrap it around her, he asked, "Where are your parents, anyway?  Who else is living here---ow!  Hey, cut it out!"  As he wrapped the blanket around her, she pounded on his back with balled fists, as if to say, "Get away from me!"  When Ash pulled away, she pulled her head into a fold of the blanket to try to hide form Ash.

            "What's she doing?" Misty asked.

            "Beats me," Ash answered.  "It's like she can't understand what I'm saying."

            Ghenki said to the girl, "You _do_ know we still know you're there, right?"

            There was no answer.  The blanket stood as still as a stone.  For an experiment, Ash tried to come closer to her again, and again she was pounding at his back.  This time, it was apparent that she was in tears and was panicking.  She was terrified of Ash for no good reason.  So Ash kept a distance of about a meter between himself and the girl as he began to ask her some questions.  He coughed dust out of his throat and said, "We're not here to hurt you…uh…whoever you are.  What's your name?"

            There was no answer.

            "You don't need to be afraid to speak to us!  We're not here to eat you!"

            There was still no answer.

            "Look, can you speak or not?"

            The dull gray shape of the combination of girl and blanket didn't move at all.  Ash looked back at Misty and Ghenki.  "I think she's one of those people who can't talk.  You know:  time messed up their memories so much that they don't remember how to speak, or who they are."

            "Not the best situation to be in," Ghenki admitted.  "Do you think her parents are anywhere near here?"

            "Maybe, maybe not," Ash answered.  "One of us should stay here while the other two look for anyone else in this building who can tell us anything about her.  I'll stay with her, if you'd like."

            Misty was a little unnerved by being separated from Ash, and Ghenki sensed that.  As he and Misty looked around, he asked, "How come you're suddenly so jumpy, Misty?"

            "Who?  Jumpy?  Me?"  There was a low scratching noise behind her, and she leaped a meter out of surprise.  It had only been a rat.

            "You see what I mean?" Ghenki asked.  "Now, come on!  Why is it?"

            "I dunno…I guess…isn't being in a big, dusty, dark apartment building like this just a _little_ creepy?"

            "You weren't as nervous before we left Ash with that girl, back there.  What, do you think he'll get killed if we leave him for fifteen minutes?"

            Misty sniffled.

            Ghenki blushed.  "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you."

            "It's not that…the dust is getting to me."

            Ghenki thought to himself, _Riiiiiiiiight__…_  He fished a handkerchief out of his pocket and handed it to her.  "I guess I'm lucky not to have any allergies," Ghenki said, making it apparent that he wouldn't violate Misty's coyness.  "I mean, going on adventures all the time and allergies really don't mix, do they?"

            "Makes me wish I'd chosen to be an orphanage volunteer," Misty sniffed.  She dried off her face.  "Thanks."

            "No problem."

            There was a low clattering noise.  "What was that?" Misty asked.

            "Probably not another rat," Ghenki muttered.  He crept up to the door the noise came from.

            "You think it's a menace machine?"

            "A machine probably would've found the girl before we did.  And they have a set protocol for attacking hiding places:  first, attack and destroy the fighters.  Next, they stun any adults left, and then make the adults watch while they eat the kids.  If the menace machines had found her, they would've eaten her.  So this probably isn't a menace machine, unless the machine just came in the building."

            "So…what do you think this is?"

            "Hopefully, her parents."

            "Then if it's a human being we're looking for, why are we being quiet?"

            "Because I might be wrong."  Ghenki flung open the door, and shone his light on the source of the noise.  A multitude of whimpers rose up from the clustered group of Botamon that sat on the floor in the middle of the room.  "Hello!  …Anyone else in here?" he shouted.  There was no answer.  He looked down at the Botamon.  "I…I come in peace," he said, half-expecting a response.

            "I don't think they can see what you are," Misty thought aloud.

            "Oh, right."  Ghenki shone the flashlight on his face and let the Botamon see what he was.  "See?  I'm human."  He began to move the flashlight to shine back on the Botamon again.  "I'm not here to kill any…one…"  As the light moved back towards where the Botamon had been, Ghenki saw that there was no one there; the Botamon had all moved away while the light had shone away from them.  "Hello…?"

            "Aw, great!" Misty muttered.                                                                                

            "Shut the door, we'll get them cornered," Ghenki suggested.  "Is there a camping lantern, or something, in one of our knapsacks?"  He pulled a poncho out of his bag and tied the head and arm holes shut to make a bag out of it.

            "You aren't thinking of grabbing every last one of those poor little things, are you?  And you're not going to put them in there??"

            "How else can we take them?" he asked.

            "They'll suffocate in there!  And what kind of impression are we making, trying to get them like that!"

            "Well, what would _you_ suggest?"

            "Positive reinforcement."

            "Positive _what_?  …Don't tell me what it is, let me guess what you're talking about…  'Positive' has to do with electricity, so you want to electrocute them out of hiding?"

            "No!  We show them that we aren't here to hurt them!  That we want to be friends…you know…!"

            "How do you think we should do that?"

            "Is that poncho clean?"

            "I would _think_ so."

            "Hand it to me."  Misty spread the poncho out on the floor to keep something between the dust on the floor and the food she was beginning to set out.  She put everything that was in her knapsack on the floor, took a few steps away from the miniature picnic, and said, "Come and get it!  Doesn't that smell nice?"

            One Botamon slowly crept up to the food and began to eat.  Another joined him, and then another, until all of them were in the middle, eating.  Misty giggled.  "See?  All it takes is positive reinforcement."

            Ghenki shrugged.  "If you say so…but how would we get all of them back to base?"

            "Hmm…good question…hey, I know!  I bet Ash's Blastoise is big enough to carry them all!"

            "It's worth a shot.  And if that doesn't work, I bet there are other pokémon you have that can carry them. One of us should watch them while the other goes and tells Ash to get out Blastoise and join us here."

            "I'll go."  Misty circled the Botamon and left the room, and the second she came within a meter and a half of the Botamon, they stopped eating, and their eyes turned on her.  They were afraid that she'd do something to them if she came too close.  "Hey, I'm not going to do anything, I'm just trying to be friends!"

            There was no answer.

            Misty left the room, and she was climbing a flight of stairs up to the floor where she _hoped_ they'd left Ash.  It was difficult to remember what was where in that building, but the stairs looked familiar.  She paused a moment to make sure this was the right way…she looked over her shoulder at the halls behind her, and she thought she remembered them…so she turned around to keep going.  But she let out a gasp when she saw that another saberstrike blocked her way…


	37. Chapter 36: One Man's Trash is Another M...

Chapter 36:  One Man's Trash Is Another Man's Hand Grenade (1)

            The man slid out from under Garurumon's unconscious form.  He looked up at Matt, expecting to go in for the kill…only to find that Matt was holding his own weapon, aimed straight at his head.  "Very clever, Mr. Ishida…we shouldn't have tried to kill you; we should've tried to make you one of us."

            "Forget it!  I want answers!  Who are you?  What're you doing to Earth?  Why did you destroy the Digiworld?"

            The man was raising his arm, and Matt could see some weird glow about to jump out of his hand.  Matt didn't waste any time; he fired at his arm.  The arm fell off, and, in the hole where the arm had once been, he saw bits of metal and jolts of electricity: not flesh and blood.  This wasn't a human being. "What are you?" Matt asked.

            "You are too much of a thorn in the side of the Empire's regime!  I've seen enough."  He opened his mouth, and a noise exactly like a summoning cry of a humbug blared out from his mouth.  Matt shot the head to silence the noise, but not soon enough:  several saberstrikes rushed in, and a huge, crane-like menace machine walked in.  The crane picked up Garurumon and began carrying him away.

GAZRIITOR:

Nickname: Lift-tor (Rifutōru)  
Real Name: Ckinei-tor-r'moh  
Caste: Kohgazrii  
Modes: One  
Special Attacks:  
Hin Kou Dra  
Yon Sh'rota  
Comments:  
The lift-tor is composed of twelve Augores that have fused into a single, huge, crane-like tor. It has a high-firepower cannon turret on its underside to defend itself and its construction site. It is often used in building enemy bases and sites. It can somehow raise and lower the mass of the spherical counterweight on its back end. The counterweight is also this machine's weakness: destroy the counterweight, and the lift-tor will lose its balance. 

            "Oh, no, you don't!"  Matt pulled out his digivice and mumbled, "If this doesn't wake him up, I don't know what will!"

            "**Garurumon, digivolve to…Weregarurumon!**"  Weregarurumon shook off the blow the robot's stunner had given him and tore himself away from the crane's hook.  "I'm comin' for ya, Matt!  Hang on!  Wolf Claw!"  He began tearing into the saberstrikes, and sent bits of metal and axe heads flying in all directions.

            "That's great, Weregarurumon, but that crane is still around."

            "I'll fix that!  Garuru Kick!"  A white blade of energy flew out and struck the lift-tor.  The lift-tor staggered backwards, but it didn't seem like it was very hurt.  "You want to give me a hand?" Weregarurumon asked.

            "I'm on it!"  Matt fired his weapon at the lift-tor, and Weregarurumon ran towards one of the legs to try to immobilize the lift-tor.

            "Yon Sh'rota!" the lift-tor yelled, firing a pair of beams out the twin cannons on its underside.  Weregarurumon easily dodged the beams with a little fancy footwork.

            "Wolf Claw!" he shouted, slashing at the lift-tor's legs.  The lift-tor staggered and fell.  Weregarurumon dove at the cannon turret and yanked it loose from the rest of the body.  "If only I had a hand grenade to blow out its insides!" Weregarurumon thought out loud.

            There was a shrill, charging-up noise coming from the dead android's body.  "Sounds like a self-destruct if I've ever heard it," Matt though aloud.  "So much for needing a hand grenade!"

            Weregarurumon threw the robotic body into the lift-tor's insides, and BLAM!  No more lift-tor…none that was alive, at any rate.

            "Now what?" Weregarurumon asked.

            "They know we're here.  We need to move Pixie out of the store…and I guess we tell Gary to get out of here, too."

            "You sure we shouldn't just leave him to get eaten?" Weregarurumon asked.

            "That's not funny, Weregarurumon."

******

            The saberstrike roared at Misty:  to it, Misty was a meal.  Misty ran down the stairs, and she saw the floor behind her explode as a sonic blast tore through it.  The saberstrike thundered after her, but couldn't keep its balance on the stairs and turned into a tumbling ball that rolled down the steps.  Misty threw herself out of the way of the ball.  She ran back up the stairs, hoping the saberstrike would forget about her, but there was a second saberstrike at the top of the steps, smacking its lips for her.  Misty nervously fumbled around in her pockets for a pokéball, but she was too late.  The saberstrike jumped on her and knocked her down, and Togepi flew out of her arms.  The saberstrike roared at her face and opened its jaws…

            Togepi let out a loud, "Tuck-ee-tuck-ee-tuck-ee-tuck-eet-tog-ee-tog-et- Togetic!"

            Misty turned her head and saw that Togepi was evolving!  Togetic snarled at the saberstrike and dove at it.  The saberstrike was knocked to pieces, but Misty saw that Togetic took some damage from the attack, too.  She picked Togetic up in her arms and hugged him tightly…she was still getting the shock of almost having died out of her system.  She hardly even noticed when another sonic blast flew up from the other saberstrike's tail.

            Togetic noticed, and he began waving his arms in his Metronome attack.  The saberstrike was paralyzed in a spray in Stun Spore.  Misty raised her head and looked.  Togetic had a pained smile on his face:  he had grown up, if only to save his mother.

            Misty called Starmie out of his pokéball and had him smash the saberstrike and end his threat.  She sat for a few minutes, letting the feelings of shock and fear get worked out of her system.  Togetic stood on her lap and rested his head on her shoulder, trying to comfort her.  Finally, she said, "Thanks Togetic."  She dusted herself off and called Togetic back into his pokéball.

            As she entered the room where she'd left Ash, she asked, "Any close calls, Ash?"

            Ash turned to her and got up.  "Nope."

            "I'm surprised.  If Togepi hadn't evolved, I'd be dead, right now."

            "You sure look the worse for wear," Ash thought aloud, looking at the dusty smudges on Misty's face, hands, and clothes.

            "A saberstrike almost got me."

            "Yikes.  Well, she still won't move," Ash said, pointing to the motionless girl that they'd found earlier.  "I don't know why she's so afraid of me."

            "If I couldn't talk and I were in a place where people get eaten alive, I'd be scared of _everybody_."

            "I know what you mean.  But how can we move her?"

            "Why don't we put her to sleep with Haunter's hypnosis and carry her back?"

            "I guess it's worth a shot.  Come on out, Haunter!"

            Haunter put her to sleep with a little hand waving and a snap.  They carried her to Ghenki and told him to get the Botamon to come downstairs.  How they could manage that was a mystery; the Botamon still didn't fully trust them.

            Pikachu slowly approached the Botamon.  They looked at him with unsure eyes.  "Pika?" he asked them.  They scattered away from him.  Pikachu snorted in disgust and jumped back up to Ash's shoulder.

            "Well, that didn't go too well, did it?" Ghenki muttered.

            "What did you do to get them here the last time?" Ash asked.

            "We spread out food, and they all rushed to it."

            "Do we try that again?"

            "Doubt it," Ghenki thought aloud.  "They just ate, so they won't be hungry."

            "I wonder where they got to," Ash said.  He took out his flashlight and aimed it around.  The second the Botamon were in the beam of light from the flashlight, they scurried into whatever hiding they could find.

            "Seems like they're watching us, if they know when to hide…and if they're watching…hey, I know!  Haunter, I choose you!"  Ash sent out Haunter again.  "Haunter, there are a whole bunch of little creatures in the darkness in this room.  Aim your hypnosis at them, and put them all to sleep."

            Haunter did what Ash said, and Ash shone his flashlight around.  They were all asleep.  He let out Charizard, and the whole room filled with orange light from his tail flame.  They scooped up all the Botamon and carried them down to Blastoise.  It took several trips to get them all down, but they made it, and they carried the Botamon back to the nuke plant.

******

            " 'Special needs', huh?  What is the point in being politically correct when there are no politics?" Tina asked.

            "It's correct, period, Tina," Misty explained.  "What's wrong with her mind is that she can't remember anything.  She isn't mentally retarded."

            "That's what Joe said?"

            "Yeah, Dr. Kido gave her and these Botamon a clean bill of health."

            "Well…I guess I'd better get some clothes on her, then.  What's her name?"

            "We don't know."

            Tina sighed, thinking about how awful it must be to not know anything about where you are, who you are, or what's going on. It was no wonder this child had cringed at every sound before Haunter put her to sleep.  She was still sound asleep from Haunter's attack, though, and so Tina had no trouble washing the new girl off in one of the nuke plant's shower stalls and getting clothes on this new girl. She chose what the child would wear quickly: she wore a heavy-ish, khaki jumper on top of a plain white T-shirt, and, given standard protocol, Tina topped the whole thing off with a light blue blanket and a purple raincoat that was her size. Tina stepped back from her work of art and nodded. She picked her up, wrapped her in her blanket, and brought the new girl to the orphanage. Looking for a place to put her, Tina decided to set her down next to Natasha's group.

            "Who's the new girl?"

            "She doesn't have a name; she's one of the people who can't remember anything."

            "Then I guess we'd better give her one.  How about…Ingrid?"

            "Ingrid?  …Okay, good as any name."

            "When'll she wake up?"

            "Beats me, but she'll wake up hungry.  And…Misty mentioned that she was afraid of everything when she first woke up the last time.  She needs to learn to trust people again."

            "How are we going to get her to trust us?"

            "I have one idea, but it'll have to wait until my shift ends to try it."

            "When's that?"

            Kari walked into the room.  "About…now," Tina answered as she walked over to tell Kari, "I'm on special assignment.  I'm staying here.  I have a 'special needs' girl, here."

            "What does she have?" Kari asked.

            "Total amnesia."

            "Oooo…ouch."

            Tina sat next to Ingrid and rested Ingrid's head on her shoulder.  She tucked a kitten inside Ingrid's arms as she thought aloud, "Natasha, you and I had better start talking.  If we talk while she's asleep, it'll get her more used to hearing our voices."

            "What do we talk about?"

            "It doesn't really matter…random stuff…if we had to, we could just spout out random syllables; just so long as she hears them and it's our voices."

            "Hmm…so…what's it like to be a Digidestined?"

            "Depends on how your personality and your digimon's personality collide."

            "And how does yours work with Youngdramon's?"

            "We get along.  A little duct-taping here, a little digivolution there."

            Natasha laughed.  "Do you ever pull pranks with the duct tape?"

            "We'd go nuts if we didn't.  We duct-taped my roommate down in her bed…'course, she didn't take it very well."

            "What did she do?"

            "She tried to switch rooms and kept giving us dirty looks."

            "Hmm..."

            "Yeah, Rika's a big stick-in-the-mud.  She pushes away every time anyone asks her a personal question---hello!  Ingrid is coming to!"

            "Showtime!"

(1) The title of this chapter isn't exactly a politically correct statement, but somehow I don't think that I'll catch any flak for it…at least, no flak about it not being politically correct.


	38. Chapter 37: A Big Head Means a Big Targe...

NOTE:  There is Christian content in this episode.

Chapter 37:  A Big Head Means a Big Target

            "Unfortunately, sir, the criminal escaped, and our arrest attempt failed to capture him."

            "Have those responsible terminated.  What of our project?"

            "Our scientists are beginning to construct them now.  We have barely enough genetic information for one; I recommend we get more."

            "Very well…"

            "And it would help if we were to find some with similar links to the first one."

            "I'll tell our field units of this."

******

            "You're not coming with us?" Matt asked.

            "Naw, with two huge pokémon at my command, I can take anything!  I'd offer to let you come with me, but Big Blue wouldn't fit in my car!  Ciao!"  He put the pedal to the medal and the cheerleaders began singing something about speed.

            "I don't know whether to approve of this or disapprove," Big Blue reasoned aloud.  "If the two giant lions he captured will do his bidding, then he is capable of handling himself and it is a good thing we aren't interacting with him.  However, we may need his help later."

            "He'll need _our_ help if those two he caught won't pay attention to him," Matt answered.  "Let's just get Pixie out of here before more come here to attack."

            Their journey was uneventful, and they ended up staying in a hospital that looked _very_ run-down.  The glass windows to the waiting room had all been shattered, and waiting room was a horrible mess.  "Looks like this place got hit by an earthquake!"

            "Indeed," Big Blue thought.  "I don't think it would be safe to put Master Pixie in there."

            "No, it would be more safe than you think.  There are lots of places to hide in there, and there should be at least _one _clean bed, too.  Besides, if there's still a doctor in there, Pixie has a better chance of recovering."

            "…Very well."  Big Blue ducked into the hospital and put Pixie in Matt's arms.

             "We should take her to one of the beds deep in these halls," Matt suggested.  "That way, she'll be the last one for the machines to find."  It didn't take long for them to find a clean bed.  Matt and Gabumon laid Pixie down and put the covers over her.  "I'll try and scrounge up some food," Matt said.

            "I'll stick around and watch her," Gabumon agreed.

            Gabumon sat down in one of the chairs in the hospital room.  "So…what happened on your world before you were brought here?"

            Pixie sighed.  "There's so much to tell…basically, there was this tyrant Monster called Moo.  He had all these psychic abilities, and he could take over some monster's minds and make them his servants.  It gets better:  we had him cornered, right when we were getting sucked into this universe."

            " 'We', huh?  You and Big Blue?"

            "And Ghenki, and Tiger, and Hare…" Pixie sighed.  "I wonder what became of them?"

            "Who're they?"

            "Other Monsters, like me.  They had a blend of abilities together.  Hare's specialty was fire, Tiger's was Ice and Lightning…" Pixie let out a long breath.  "I wish I knew where they were."

            "I know the feeling.  Matt and I had a whole bunch of friends who we were counting on, too."

            "How many?"

            "Eleven humans, eleven digimon.  The digimon and humans had links between them, just like Matt does with me."

            "The humans made the digimon digivolve?"

            "Yes, they did."

            "Hmm…what do you suppose became of them?"

            Gabumon sighed.  "What with everyone on this planet having disappeared…I think the chances are about a million to one that they're all still alive!"

            "I wouldn't worry: chances don't mean anything to the God of destiny."

            "Huh?"

            Pixie sighed.  "There are a lot of spirits in this world, but only one has real power:  the God of destiny.  A priest on my homeworld showed me this, and he taught me about him…it's really complicated what He is, but I've been a worshipper of Him ever since."

            "You really think He exists, huh?"

            "How can't He, when you stop and think about it?"

            "But if there is a God controlling everything, then why would something like this happen?"

            "Is the God of destiny the only person who can make choices?"

            "…Interesting point.  But who would choose to attack Earth? ...And why?"

            "I don't know."

******

            "WHAT?!?!" they screamed in unison.  "Not _you_!!!"  Tiger and Hare _had_ ended up on lookout duty, but neither one of them with Renamon:  they were paired up with each other.

            "I can't believe this!" Hare spat.  "I didn't want a shift with _you_!!"

            "And it wasn't _you_ that I was hoping for a shift with, either."            

            Hare rubbed his forehead with his paw.  "All right, I need to switch shifts."

            "Ditto.  But what about right now?"

            "I guess we have to suffer this shift out."

            "Great."

            There was no dialogue, but Hare was sitting there with a scowl on his face while Tiger had a huge smile.  Hearts danced around his head as he thought of Rufusmon's coppery fur and her fox-like appearance.  She was his soul mate, his true love! (At least in _his_ mind.)

            Hare was also thinking about Renamon.  The white spot on her fur was coming out, and she did seem like she was sorry for having hidden the truth from him…but…Hare sighed.  He still didn't know whether to trust her or not.  He very much wanted to trust her and build another relationship with her, but he wondered whether they could ever be more than friends---or whether they could even be that much.

            There they sat until T.K. and Cody came in with a group of families and baby digimon.  Then they snapped out of their hormonal stupors and began keeping children in line.  Hare gently pushed children into the queue of people and had to keep at that job until his shift was over.  But a few minutes before the shift ended, he felt an itch on his fur.  Then he realized what had happened:  he'd gotten a flea from a Gazimon that had been in the group.  He was scratching furiously when he saw Rika and Renamon come in to relieve him.  He stopped scratching and looked at Renamon nervously.  He kept along the back wall so that she wouldn't catch his flea.

            "Am I that repulsive to you?" Renamon asked, noticing Hare was keeping as wide a distance as possible between himself and Renamon.

            "No…it's…not…that…at…all…gotta go!"  Hare sped away, and, the second he rounded a corner, he was hopping and itching, to the surprise of everyone around.

            Renamon wondered…Hare was being _shy_ about this…maybe he still had feelings for her, or something…?

            She turned around, and nearly tripped over Tiger, who was coming back from his shift, too.  He looked up at her with a blushing face and said, "If there's any trouble, like the kind that makes you need to digivolve…call me, and I'll be right over."

            "Um…okay…thanks…"

            Renamon was more confused than ever.  She looked at Rika.  Rika rolled her eyes.  "Boys!" she said.  "That's why I don't get myself involved.  Love is weird."

            "No kidding," Renamon agreed.


	39. Chapter 38: Losses

NOTE:  Tina sings Christian songs in this chapter.  Beyond that, there's not much Christian content.

Chapter 38:  Losses

            Ingrid opened her eyes, and found herself resting against something that felt warm and soft…and _alive_!  Ideas flashed through her mind about how she'd seen other things that are alive attacking people like her, other human beings…she shrank back from this living thing.  Then she noticed another one in her arms.  It was smaller, but even warmer and softer than the first one.  She dropped it and shrank further back, until her back was against the wall.  She looked up at the larger living thing…it was looking at her with human eyes, but it was no one she recognized.

            It slowly moved towards her, and so she pulled the blanket she was wrapped in over her head.  She peeked out of a hole in the wrinkles of the blanket and looked at the larger living thing…it was picking up the smaller creature and holding it in its arms…and it was making strange, soft, low cooing noises to the creature in its arms…

            "♪Are you weak and hea-vy laden, cumbered with a load of care…?

                Doooo thy friends despise, forsaaake thee?  Take it to the Lord in praaayer. ♫

                ♫Oooohh, what peace we often forfeit, Ooooh, what needless pain we bear!

                Aaaall be-cause we do not caaa-rryyyy eeeeevery-thing to God in prayer…! ♫"

            …This wasn't the type of behavior that something that was about to eat her would exhibit.  And there was something about her…  Ingrid let down her blanket and exposed her face, partly to get a better look at her, and partly to see what she would do.  She only continued her singing, with the exact same song:

            "♪Are you weak and heavy laaa-den, cuuum-ber'd with a load of care…?

                Do thy friends des-pise, forsake thee?  Taaaake it to the Lord in prayer. ♫

                ♪Oooohhh, what peace we often foooor-feit, Oooooh, what needless pain we beeaar!

                ♫All because we do not carry everything to God in praaaayer…!"

            …She didn't _seem_ hostile…  Ingrid crept a little closer, and a little closer…

            Huh!  There was something she smelled that made her stomach hurt with hunger.  It was vaguely familiar to her, and then she saw the source of it:  chocolate!  It was lying on the human being's lap, half-open in its wrapper.  Ingrid crept closer, and closer to it…

            She was so close now that her skin was tingling with jitters.  But---if Ingrid could get _this_ close without upsetting the human…she crept a little closer, until she was within grabbing distance of the chocolate…and she quickly snatched it off Tina's lap and shrank back to the wall.  She gobbled down the chocolate, but she was still hungry…

            The warm creature must've known she was still hungry, because there was another bit of food next to her:  a piece of dried pork.  But this time, the warm creature didn't leave the food on its lap for Ingrid to take, but she looked at Ingrid and slid the plate along the floor towards her.  It stopped sliding about a meter and a half from her, then returned to her singing and stroking of the smaller, furry creature. 

            It was as though that person knew she was there, but deliberately was doing something _good_ for her, so that she wouldn't be so hungry.  Ingrid crept up and picked the meat up off the plate.  She had a hard time chewing on it, but she managed to get it all into her stomach.  And now she was thirsty…and Tina had a solution:  there was a glass of milk in her hand, but _this_ time, it was looking straight at her, with the glass extended towards her.

            Ingrid was scared…this creature didn't act hostile, but she was getting too close for comfort.  Ingrid didn't move a muscle.

            Tina sighed.  "She still doesn't trust me enough to take the cup."

            "Maybe if you put it down in front of her."

            Tina shrugged.  "Worth a shot."  She gently set down the cup.  "…she's still not moving," Tina whispered.

            Natasha whispered back, "Keep singing, and back away a little."

            "♫What a friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear!

                ♪We should never be discouraged, take it to the Lord in prayer,

                Can we find a friend so---♫"

            Tina stopped singing as she saw Ingrid snatch the milk off the floor so quickly that it splashed all over the floor and all over herself.  She gulped down what was left in the cup and dropped the cup on the ground.  The cup slowly rolled towards Tina, and Tina picked it up.

            Hesitantly, Tina thought loud, "…Well, that went well.  …At least her jacket's milk-proof."

            "No kidding."

            "This is going to be an uphill battle…"

            "At least Chickpea can take care of the mess," Natasha pointed out.  The kitten Tina had been holding was licking up the milk off the floor.

******

            "See ya later," Takato yelled at Rika as he left.

            Rika didn't know whether to yell, "see ya" or not, so she held her tongue.

            "How much later?" Terriermon wisecracked.  "Nine seconds, five hours, or five days?"

            "Oh, funny, Terriermon," Takato shot back.  "So…another day, another group of refugees to take home…where do we look today?"

            "We're doing more than just looking: it's a new idea that the Tai, Agumon, and T.K. had," Henry explained.  "It's that we leave these at the doors of big buildings."  Henry handed Takato a sheet of neon orange paper.

            "Looks like a survey."

            "I know.  And we're supposed to remember what buildings we put them on."

            "Guess we'd better start writing it down, so we can keep track…"

            After a few uneventful hours of posting orange papers on buildings, they heard the telltale roar of a catamarine behind them.  "Aw, great!" Takato moaned.  "So…which one of us takes him?"

            "I think it's a better move to run for it!  Have Guilmon digivolve, and we'll ride him out of here!"

            "**Digi-modify!  Digivolution, activate!**"

            "**Guilmon, digivolve to…Growlmon!**"

            They climbed on Growlmon's back and began running away from the catamarine.  …Unfortunately, there was another catamarine blocking their way.  "Whoa!  These things move fast!" Growlmon shouted.  He screeched to a halt and ran in another direction.  But _another_ catamarine was blocking his way.

            "They're fencing us in!" Terriermon yelled.  "Henry, lemme digivolve!"

            "Even as Gargomon, you don't have a hope of taking them!  Takato, we need to _fly_ out of here!"

            "Right!  **Digi-modify!  Hyper wings, activate!**"

            Growlmon flew over the huge lions' heads before they got a chance to hit him with lava, but there were more machines to come:  spiderstrikes filled the air above them.  "Uh-oh!" Takato moaned.  "Looks like this isn't going to be so easy…wait a minute!  Hold on to your hat…**Digi-modify!  Hypersonic, activate!**"

            Growlmon sped past the spiderstrikes, and narrowly missed being shot out of the sky.  "I really didn't like the looks of that," Growlmon thought aloud.

            "No kidding," Henry agreed.  "It's like they were purposely attacking us, or something.  Usually, they aren't _smart_ enough to do that!"

            "But how would---oh-oh!  Trouble!" Takato said, pointing to below them.  There was a clutch of slagsters on the ground, going after them.

            "Looks like they just won't take 'no' for an answer."

            "No kidding.  What do you think we should do?"

            "Move it for the nuke plant.  We're too high for them to get us right now, so, once we get inside 500 meters of the plant, they'll quit following us."

            "Gotcha," Growlmon said.  He sped towards the plant as fast as he could and landed, just within sight of it.  He regressed back to Guilmon after Takato, Henry, and Terriermon got off.

            "What do you think they were after us for?" Takato wondered.

            "**_You_**," a voice behind them said.  They spun around and saw a figure, covered in a dark brown cloak.

            "Who're _you_?" Takato asked.

            "Your worst nightmare, put simply."  He brought his arm out from the folds of his cloak, and there was a metal gauntlet on it.  He pressed a button on the gauntlet, and a pair of catamarines came thundering into view---_inside_ the 500 meter radius!

            "Hoo, boy!" Takato moaned.

            Henry swiped a digivolution card through his digivice.

            "**Terriermon, digivolve to…Gargomon!**"

            "That won't help you much," the cloaked figure taunted.  The catamarines began throwing gobs of lava at Henry, Takato, Guilmon, and Gargomon.  They had trouble dodging the blasts of lava, but they all survived.  But in dodging the attack, Guilmon and Takato had put too much distance between themselves and Henry and Gargomon, and an e-gull came rushing towards them and smacked them with electric shocks to knock them unconscious.

            "Takato!" Henry yelled.

            "Gargo Laser!" Gargomon shouted.  He shot down the e-gull.

            "You're too late!  The _ilto-tor-angei_ already did its job.  Time for the next part."  He pushed another button on his gauntlet, and an army of some new kind of menace machine drove into view.  They reminded Henry of slagsters, but their arms and heads were _way_ different from a slagster's.

GAZRIITOR:

Nickname: Throwback (Torōbāku)  
Real Name: Onspei-tor-ariit'  
Caste: Kohgazrii  
Modes: One  
Special Attacks:  
Gazriiota  
Grimn F'dontato  
Comments:  
The throwback is a design offshoot of the slagster. While its speed is no match for the slagster's, it contains many of the same components as the slagster. Its shovel can be used both to attack and for construction work, and it commonly uses its shovel to throw its opponent over its back, hence its name. Its cannon is equally versatile; it can be used instead of explosives in construction, or it can be used as a weapon. 

            Henry clenched his teeth.  "There has to be some way to…!"  He looked in his right hand, and there, in his fist, was a blue card!  "**Digi-modify!  Matrix digivolution, activate!**"

            "**Gargomon, digivolve to…Metalgargomon!**" 

            Metalgargomon looked like a cyborg clad in green armor.  He raised his left arm to attack.  "Cluster Cannon!"  A barrage of missiles flew out his arm, and a lot of throwbacks bit the dust…but not enough of them.

            "Time for another change in plans!" the cloaked figure sneered.  He pressed yet another button and the catamarines fired lava in arcs over Takato's head, so that the lava landed between Takato and Metalgargomon.

            "They're trying to block us off from him!" Henry moaned.

            "Boy, you catch on quick!" the figure jived.

            "Grazrii Ota!" several throwbacks shouted.  A rain of blue sparks shot out from behind the lava curtain at Metalgargomon and Henry.

            "**Digi-modify!  Wargreymon grey-shield, activate!**"  An orange shield appeared in Metalgargomon's hands, and he used it to deflect the shots away from himself and Henry.

            "What do we do?" Metalgargomon asked.  "I can't get near them!  And I can't shoot back, or the missiles will explode and splash lava on Takato and Guilmon!"

            Henry sighed.  "I don't know, Metalgargomon…I don't know!  Wait a sec---the gauntlet!  That's what he's using to control those menace machines!"

            "I'll go after it!  Grapple Claw!"  Metalgargomon's right arm shot forward and grabbed onto the cloaked figure's wrist.  The gauntlet came off, and Henry began looking it over.

            "Now…how does this thing _work_?!"

            "Got me," Metalgargomon admitted, still holding his shield in front of himself to block the laser shots.

            "Let's see…he pushed something like…" he pressed one of the buttons, and the wall of lava cleared.  There was only a huge puddle of magma in their path…but Takato and Guilmon weren't on the other side!

            "Nice try, but you're too late!" the cloaked figure taunted.  He jumped onto a passing throwback and rode away.

            "Metalgargomon, we _have_ to go after them!"

            "After all that walking and those modifications, I don't know if I have that kind of energy…ugh!"  Metalgargomon fell to one knee and regressed back to Terriermon.

            "_No!_" Henry yelled:  he'd lost Takato…


	40. Chapter 39: Define Back

Chapter 39:  Define "Back"

            Henry walked into the plant more ashamed than ever, and he even had tears running down his face.

            Rika looked at him as he was walking in, and she asked, almost without knowing that she was being a social creature, "What happened to _you_?"

            "Takato…!  He's _gone_!  They got him!"

            "_Got_ him?  He's…dead?"  As much as she tried to deny her heart, Rika couldn't help feeling her stomach wrench over the loss of Takato.

            "I don't know what they did to him…but they took him away, and there was a _human_ helping them!"

            "A human?  Who?"

            "Nobody I know…oh!  Yolei's going to kill me for this if I don't kill myself first!"

            "Hmph…I guess we're going to have to get him back then, huh?"

            "How?  How can we ever find him back?!"

            "The D-Arcs, duh!"  Rika held hers up, and Takato's digivice was on the screen, moving away from them.

            "I'll get Yolei."

******

            "You accomplished the mission, but not at the cost we expected."

            "You can build another gauntlet.  How tough can that be?"

            "Not very.  The one you lost was incomplete, anyway.  In future, do not allow such losses."

            "Don't worry; I won't."  There was a short pause.  "One question…how come you had me go through all that trouble, anyway?  What good is he to you?  Is he a Digidestined?"

            "We saw him digivolve his digimon.  He must be."

            "I don't see what good he'll do you at this point."

            "Even if the human does none at all, his digimon will.  We need more genetic information to succeed."

******

            "I'm sorry, Henry…but we just don't have the time to go after him."

            "What do you _mean_?!"

            "I don't know how to put this…but, to put it bluntly, he's just not that important.  There are people dying every minute just because we didn't get to them in time.  If Takato's already dead---"

            "He _can't_ be!  If they'd wanted him dead, they'd have killed him and left his body to rot right in front of us!  This was a kidnapping job, not a seek-and-destroy!  And if they want him alive, there's no telling what it could be _for_!  We need to get him back---!"

            Yolei shook her head.  "Enough of this…you're just emotionally unstable because you've lost him.  I'd love to be able to say, 'Never leave a man behind!' and send a team to get him, but I can't.  We just don't have the resources. Please, go get some sleep…you need it."

            "But---!"

            "**_GO._**"

            Henry sighed.  He walked to his room to begin weeping into his pillow.

            Tina passed him as she was walking to the TV lounge.  She saw the tears on his face and she felt him smack her shoulder going past her, and he hissed at her, "_You and your mother!_"  Tina was taken aback.

            Youngdramon looked up at her.  "Should I eat his Terriermon for that?"

            "I don't think that's what's called for…maybe we should go to the horse's mouth on this."

            "Your mom or Henry?"

            "My mom.  If Henry were the horse's mouth, he'd bite me."  Tina walked into Yolei's office.  "Mom, how come you're always ticking people off?"

            "Hey, it comes with the job description:  I can't please everyone."

            "Henry's…he slammed into me in the hall.  He said to me 'you and your mother'."

            "He's just upset.  He'll get over it…after a while."

            "What happened?"

            "I told him we didn't have time to go after a friend of his that was kidnapped."

            "Kidnapped?  Who?"

            "Takato."

            "Mom, it's a lot of gratitude that we're showing by not going back after him!  Look at how much he's done for this place!"

            "It's not like that, honey.  We all need to give some to live around here."

            "And, for all he's given, he gets to die?"

            "We don't know that he's going to.  Honey, I don't have time to argue with you.  I know that your heart is too big to let Takato stay in their clutches, but we have refugees to keep safe!  …And don't even _think_ about going after him yourself.  You're still not allowed to leave the plant, young lady!"

            "How would I know where to look, anyway?" Tina turned around and walked to the door.

            "Is that all you have to say?"

            "I came in here because I wanted to know what's with Henry.  That's all---" Tina did a double-take out the office door.  "Uh, Mom, did you say that _Takato_ was the missing guy?"

            "Yeah.  Why?"

            "Because that guy over there looks conspicuously like Takato!"

            Yolei got up from her desk and looked---and it _was_ Takato!

            "Takato?" she asked.  "How did you get back?"

            "I just jumped out of that---_thing's_ claw, and it didn't run after me to try to get me back…I can't explain it!"

            "What about Guilmon?"

            "I don't know, but, if they kill him, his data goes straight back to my digivice."

            "Then…until you get him back, you'd better stay in the plant.  Go to your room and get some rest."

            "Thanks."

            Yolei sighed.  "Well…one problem solved itself."

            "I _guess_," Tina said.

            As they were walking away from the office, Youngdramon asked, "Now, doesn't it seem a little weird to you that Takato isn't the least bit scared about what's going to happen to Guilmon?"

            Tina shrugged.  "Maybe he just doesn't show it."

            "Maybe."

******

            Big Blue was stirred from his sleep by a loud, "Hey, check this out, Gabumon!"

            "What is it?"

            "It…_looks_ like Sora's old fanny-pack.  You know, the one she was wearing when we were at that summer camp, right before we were beamed into the Digiworld the first time."

            "You think it's a coincidence that this same type of pack is here?"

            "I dunno, Gabumon…last I remember, Sora was a CEO for a big company.  I don't know how she would've gotten to America…if that's where we are."

            "I _distinctly_ remember the Digiworld being destroyed," Gabumon insisted.  "This can only be Earth."

            "If you say so, Gabumon.  But didn't they stop making these fanny packs?  And even _if_ Sora was here, how would she have it with her?"

            "Something turned you into a kid, again…and, when you were transformed, you were wearing the same clothes as when you were a kid, weren't you?"

            "Well…yeah…"

            "Then Sora might've gotten her fanny pack back when she was turned into a kid, too."

            "But where would she have gone from here?"

            "I have _one_ guess…"


	41. Chapter 40: Enter the Permeate

Chapter 40:  Enter the Permeate

            "How is the decoding coming along?"

            "At the expected rate, sir."

            "Hmm…we are expecting more information within the next few days.  Be prepared to decode it, as well."

            "Understood, sir."

******

            "So…we need to test out different types of stones, huh?" Tracy asked.

            "That's what Yolei told us to do," Cleaver said, nodding his head.  "We have a thunder stone, a fire stone, a water stone, and a sun stone…that's it, I guess."

            "What's the plan?" Davis asked.

            "First, use the digi-egg of courage on Veemon."

            "Okay…**digi-armor, energize!**"

            "**Veemon, armor-digivolve to…Flamedramon, the fire of courage!**" 

            "Now…we try the different stones."

            "The most logical one to try is Brock's fire stone," Tracy thought aloud.  He touched it to Flamedramon's arm.

            "**Flamedramon, radio-digivolve to…Magnesium-Flamedramon, the unquenchable fire of courage!**"  Magnesium‑Flamedramon had white licks of flame painted on his armor.  He had a pair of red wings, and one of his arms was a cannon with a conduit running from it to his back.

            "Whoa," Davis sputtered.  "That's…radio digivolving?"

            "The way it works for pokémon is that the radiation from the stones lets them evolve," Tracy explained.  "It must work the same way with armor digimon, too."

            "So…we send out pokémon trainers with the Digidestined, _and_ the Monsters?" Davis asked.

            "Looks that way."

            "But I have two digi-eggs that will work on Monsters…which eggs and stones should I use, and who on?"

            "Well, it's easy to guess that the thunder stone will work on Raidramon.  But I dunno about the sun stone---we'll need to test out what works on who later."

            "That doesn't answer my question."

            "We don't know the answer to your question.  We'll need to do more experimenting to find out which stones and eggs will work on who."

Cleaver cut in, "I have a guess how the radio digivolution process works. When we turned the Digidestineds' crests into digi-eggs, we left a few components of the crest programs in the eggs. The idea was that we'd be able to make the digimon stronger, later, but we never used those old components, but we never removed them, either."

"...So you're guessing that the evolution stones somehow activate those crest subroutines?" Tracy guessed.

"Exactly."

Davis and Veemon were dizzy from listening to that techno-babble. "Excuse us," Veemon said.

Cleaver rolled his eyes. "Lesser mortals..."

******

            Tai was Takato's roommate---a thing that Takato had had trouble getting his head around.  But now, Tai was having trouble getting his head around Takato and his weird behavior.  He was never at any of the meals, nor was he doing much of anything along the line of duties---he wasn't on seek patrol because he didn't have Guilmon with him, and he wasn't on cleaning duty---or an orphanage supervisor, for that matter.  It was like he was doing nothing at all, and Tai was surprised that Yolei would allow Takato to do nothing.  He asked Takato about it.

            "Oh, I've been doing a little of this…a little of that…you know…different duty shifts here and there…"

            "What kind of 'a little of this and a little of that'?  I haven't seen you at any of the meals, or anything like that…are you…not eating?"

            "Uh…"

            "Listen, if Agumon were kidnapped, I'd be scared, too.  And I'd lose my appetite.  But it's not good for you to starve yourself.  Even if you're not hungry, you should eat something."

            "Ah…point noted.  I'll do that."

            "Thanks.  And don't worry…you'll get him back."

            "Not likely.  The Empire---*cough!* (excuse me)---Yolei wouldn't let anybody go out there to get him back if the base was depending on it.  She's always neglecting the emotional needs of her underlings…I think _you'd_ make a better leader."

            "Naw, Yolei's better at assigning people and paperwork, and all that stuff.  I'm more into going-out-and-fighting."

            "If you say so.  But I really think you'd be a better leader than she is."

            Tai yawned.  "I don't know about you, but I'm bushed!  I'm getting some shuteye."

            "Go ahead.  I…have some other things I need to do."

            "Don't stay up too late."

            "Oh, don't worry, I won't."  Takato quietly crept out of his room and into Sora's room.  Since it was Sora's shift to be on seek patrol, she wasn't inside---nor was her roommate, Mimi.  He looked at Biyomon's preening comb, and there were a few puffs of down on the teeth.  He plucked a feather off and put it in his pocket.  He quietly crept out of the room, and into Davis's room.  He was Henry's roommate, and Henry didn't seem to be around.  Davis and Veemon were in the thickest of sleep, snoring so loudly that Takato had to turn down the volume on his ears.  He looked at Veemon's helmet, which lay on the floor, away from Veemon's bed.  _Good_, he thought to himself.  He rubbed the inside of the helmet and wiped his fingers off onto a petri dish.

            "Takato?" Henry asked.

            Takato turned.  He hadn't expected to see Henry there.  "Sorry…I didn't mean to wake you up."

            "What're you here for?"

            "I---was hoping we could talk."

            "What about?"

            "…Are you sure we should talk here?  I mean…I don't want to wake Davis or Veemon up."

            "Oh, there's no danger of that.  If they can sleep through each other's snoring, then they can sleep through us talking."

            "Okay…if you say so…  One question---what do you think of Yolei?"

            "Well---I dunno…I never liked her on the TV show."

            _Hello!  …I wonder what he's talking about?_ Takato wondered to himself.  "Well…neither did I.  But what do you think of her now?"

            "I guess she's okay.  I mean, I didn't like her telling me that nobody could look for you, but…"

            "She said that?"

            "Well…" Henry sighed.  "I don't mean to be saying bad things about her behind her back."

            "Then don't tell me anything that isn't true."

            "…Okay.  She said, and I quote, 'I'm sorry, Henry…but we just don't have the time to go after him.  He's just not that important.' "

            "Some attitude for a leader!  I'm really touched that she feels so strongly about me!"

            "My thoughts exactly when I first heard what she said.  But…well, I don't mean to insult you…don't take this the wrong way…but she might've---_kinda_ been right.  I mean, if you hadn't slipped out of that throwback's shovel, we might not have been able to get you back alive, anyways. They would've used you as a hostage or---"

            "I'm really touched by _your_ sympathy, too!" Takato spat.  He turned his back and stormed out of the room.

            Terriermon asked, "Did he take it the wrong way?"

            "I think so…but that's really not like him.  Maybe something _is_ really wrong with him…?"


	42. Chapter 41: In the Shadows

Chapter 41:  In the Shadows

            "So…where do _you_ think he'd go?"

            "If I were him, I'd go to Japan.  The other Digidestined would be more likely to be there than anywhere else."

            "But what about the others?"

            "We'll wait till she's a bit more recovered, then go there…and hope that they're still here when we come back."

******

            This was the third day Ingrid had awakened leaning on Natasha's shoulder.  Each time, there had been no danger, but Ingrid had been terrified to be within a meter and a half of another person.  She had almost gotten used to it, but she still shrank back from Natasha to the wall.  She felt cold, and regretted pulling away.  But she wasn't brave enough to come towards Natasha, either.  Natasha saw that she was a little chilly, so she picked up Chickpea, the kitten assigned to Ingrid, and offered it to her.

            Ingrid looked at the kitten with unsure eyes.  She looked back up at Natasha as if to ask, "What're you going to do with that?"

            Natasha slowly moved closer and closer to Ingrid, until she was close enough to slowly slip the kitten into Ingrid's blanket.  Ingrid was afraid, but she didn't try to fight back.  She held the kitten in her hands, and she could feel the warmth radiating out of it.  She stroked its fur, the sameway the older kids did, and it mewed back at her.  It was kind of…cute…!

            Natasha was relieved to see a smile spread across Ingrid's face.  _Finally,_ she thought to herself.  She got up and brought two bowls of rice that were ready for their breakfasts.  She sat down again in front of Ingrid.  She began eating from one of the bowls so that Ingrid would know that the rice was food.  Ingrid reached for the other bowl and pulled it close enough for her to eat.

            What surprised Natasha was that Ingrid was so good at eating with a spoon.  Natasha didn't understand how she would remember how to eat with a spoon and yet forget how to speak, but time had been doing other strange things that she didn't understand, either.  Natasha kept moving closer and closer to Ingrid, very slowly and very carefully.  Ingrid was fully aware of Natasha's slow approach.  She looked up at her, and Natasha looked away.  Natasha didn't want to threaten her by making eye contact.  Ingrid kept eating until the bowl was empty.  As she had learned before, she pushed the bowl and spoon away when she was done.  Natasha picked up the bowl and spoon and carried them to the dirty-dishes cart.  Then she came back to Ingrid to see how she was.  Ingrid was very unsure about Natasha, and was still afraid of her.  Natasha sighed.  She pushed her bedroll closer to Ingrid and crawled in.  Then Natasha looked at Ingrid. "You know," Natasha said, "I agree…this is scary.  I've seen some friends of mine get eaten…  But this place is safe.  It's not all that tough to get along with the other kids.  And I don't like living this way, either---there's not much to do besides play video games or ball…and we don't know what's going on outside…but at least we're alive."  Natasha sighed.  "I wish you weren't so scared all the time.  It's not very nice in here, but at least you'll be okay."

            Ingrid looked at her, still with unsure eyes, but there was something else in those eyes:  curiosity.

            Natasha pulled her kitten out of her bedroll and held it out to Ingrid.  "Kitten," Natasha said.  She was tying to get Ingrid to say it.  "Kitten."

            "K-k-"

            "Kit-ten."

            "Ki-kit-kit-ten!"

            "Kitten!"

            "Kit-ten!" Ingrid said.

            _Well…it's a start,_ Natasha thought.

******

            "Takato?"

            He must've jumped a mile when he heard Kari say his name.  "Oh…sorry, I didn't know you were in…here…"

            "What on _earth_ are you doing in my room?"

            "I…I came to talk.  One question:  what do you think of Yolei?"

            "Yolei?  …Well, I'll admit that we sometimes don't get along, and sometimes she can be a little harsh…but, overall, I think she's okay."

            "Really?  Well…" Takato sighed.

            "What is it?"

            "…I dunno, I just don't think she's cut out to be a leader."

            "Really?"

            "Well…she's always neglecting the emotional needs of her underlings.  I could tell you a few stories about the orders she's given, but I promised the people who told me them that I wouldn't tell anyone."

            Kari stared at him with an unsure look.  "If people feel _that_ strongly about it…"

            "Not that I want to make waves, but I really think your brother would make a better leader."

            "Why would you say that?"

            "He's more in tune with his own emotions."

            "You think Yolei isn't in tune with hers?"

            "Not really."

            "You've got a lot to learn about her.  You watched the TV show?"

            _The "TV show" again…what is a "TV show"? _Takato wondered.  "Well…not as much as you'd think…"

            "I thought you told me you were the biggest fan this side of the International Date Line!"

            "That was verbal irony; I didn't mean it."

            "You said it like you meant it."

            Takato scratched the back of his neck.  "Sorry… what did I miss?"

            "Yolei has a lot going on inside her head.  You get her to open her mouth, and it's tough to get her close it.  And she understands her own emotions and she can admit it when she's wrong."

            "She sure didn't seem to admit it when---uh---well, like I said, I'm not supposed to tell anyone."

            Kari sighed.  "Listen, it's late.  You should get some rest."

            "I don't have anything to do in the morning, anyway."

            "Still, it's not healthy for you to skip sleep.  Go to bed."

            "Okay…I'll do that."  _At least I got what I came for…man, I wish I had a stealth mode!_ Takato thought to himself.  _They keep catching me in the act!_


	43. Chapter 42: Huh, Boy!

Chapter 42:  Huh, Boy!

            "You know," Ghenki said as he collapsed on the couch next to Davis, "I feel kinda…_useless_ around here."

            "Why do you say that?" Davis asked, not taking his eyes off the TV for a second.

            "Well…all you Digidestined, pokémon trainers, and tamers…you guys can help other creatures out, but I don't see how I can help anyone else…not even myself.  In fact, I wouldn't be able to fight at all if Cleaver hadn't given me one of those gremlin's weapons."

            "Relax," Davis said.

            Looking at Davis's slouched position and the fact that he was watching TV, Ghenki asked, "Is that your answer for everything?"

            "Not quite _everything_.  For one thing---" Davis's sentence trailed off as he noticed Takato walking past them just then.  "Hold on a sec," Davis said.  "Veemon?"

            "What??" Veemon asked, just waking up.

            "I need to get up from this couch and leave the room."

            "Okay…" Veemon climbed onto Davis's back and covered Davis's eyes with his hands.  Davis got up and walked to Yolei's office.

            "Say Yolei?" Davis asked.

            "What is it?"

            "How do you like being head of this bunch?"

            "Well, it's a hassle…I wouldn't give you that job unless I was sadistic."

            "Why did you volunteer to be leader, anyways?"

            "…I guess it's because I like a little peace and quiet every now and again.  I mean, it's fun enough DNA digivolving and blowing up stuff with Anserimon, but doing paperwork and assigning people to different jobs can sometimes be a relief."

            "Wouldn't be to me," Davis murmured.  "Reason I ask is…Takato had a talk with Henry, my roommate, about you and you being in charge…he said you weren't a good leader.  And it was almost as if he was trying to make you look bad deliberately."

            "Huh?"

            "It's like he's trying to rebel."

            "…Weird."

            "That's what I thought."

            "Should I have a talk with him?"

            "Nah, I'll talk to him." After a few minutes, Davis came back.

"What's the scoop?" Yolei asked.

            "He said he'd think about what I told him."

            "What did you tell him?"

            "That you knew what you were doing and that you had more years under your belt than he did."

            "Hey!  Watchit!"

            "…Oh, come on!  Even if you were ninety years old before this time-thing changed you, you're a kid now.  I wouldn't be worried about age if I were you."

            Yolei waved him off.  "Don't you have seek patrol, or something?"

            "Not for another two hours."

            "Well, quit hanging around here!"

******

            "Incoming, sir."

            "Can you decode it?"

            "As easily as the other samples, sir."

            "Good."

            "These will be decoded at the expected rate, assuming the situation will continue to be as it is now."

            "Hmm…see what you can do about speeding it up.  But be careful, or I will have to have you terminated---should a delay arise."

            "I understand.  There is one other thing…an _idea_ one of our other underlings had."

            "Do tell."

******

            "Some promotion _this_ is," June spat.  She tightened the hood strings of her poncho.  "Lookout duty in the freezing rain!"

            "Mom said that we needed lookouts.  Those menace machines came within five hundred meters of the plant before, and they'll do it again if we aren't careful."

            "Why would they do that?"

            "I don't know…before, it was to kidnap one of our guys.  He made it back, but his digimon didn't."

            "You'd think they'd at least find us a dry spot to watch from," June muttered.

            "Not today," Tina thought aloud as she strolled to the other side of the roof.  "Besides, we---!"

            "What?"

            "There's no rain over here!"

            "What?"

            "It just---_stops_ raining on this side of the roof!"

            "That's weird…but good!"  June raced to that side of the roof and breathed a sigh of relief.  "That's better."

            "No kidding."

            "One question…are all these time anomalies freaking you out?"

            "Not really.  None of them ever turned out to be dangerous."

            "What about the one in the girl's room?"

            "That qualifies and 'annoying', not 'dangerous'," Youngdramon cut in.

            "Speak for yourself!  I can't think straight, knowing that, at any minute, a boy could come barging in!"

            "Personally, I'd only be scared if that boy was Davis," Tibemon cut in.

            "Why Doofus?" Tina asked.  "I mean---hello! New issue!"

            "What is it?"

            "Catamarines as twelve o'clock!"  It was no lie.  There were three huge, lava-spouting lions, ready to attack the plant.

            "Time to do our thing!"

            "**Youngdramon, digivolve to…Ikudramon!**"

            "**Tibemon, digivolve to…Savamon!**"

            "**Ikudramon!**"

            "**Savamon!**"

            "**DNA digivolve to…Mermon!**"

            "I don't think Mermon can take those things alone," Tina insisted.  "We need more fighters!"

            Mermon picked June and Tina up and then flew down to the sidewalk below the building and set them down.  "You two sound the warning; I'll hold them off until help arrives!"

            "Right!"  Tina and June raced into the nuke plant and yelled, "We have a situation!  Catamarines attacking!"

            "Uh-oh!  …Veemon, I need to get away from the television set, again!" Veemon climbed onto Davis's back and covered his eyes.  The two of them raced away from the lounge and skidded to a halt, just outside the nuke plant.  Davis held up the digi-egg of friendship and yelled, "**Digi-armor, energize!**"

"**Veemon, armor-digivolve to…Raidramon, the storm on friendship!**"

            Ash, Tracy, and Misty weren't far behind.  "Kingler, Bulbasaur, Blastoise, Pidgeot, Snorlax, Totodile!  Go!"

            "Starmie, Staryu, Golduck, go!"

            "Scizor, Venonat, Azumarill, go!"

            "This is gonna get ugly," Ash cautioned himself. 


	44. Chapter 43: The Fight Begins

Chapter 43:  The Fight Begins

            Raidramon threw as much lightning as he could at the catamarines, but they just didn't seem very affected.  "Aw, great!" Davis muttered.  "Ash, do you still have that thunder stone?"

            "Yeah, here it is."

            "Give it to me.  Raidramon needs it to digivolve."

            "Pika, pi pika chu pi chu kaaaa…!" Pikachu insisted.

            "What was that?" Davis asked.

            Ash answered, "He said he hoped you'd keep it; he doesn't want to evolve to Raichu any time soon."

            "Suit yourself.  As for me, I'd like to see Raidramon's radio-digivolved form!  Raidramon!" he shouted.  "Time for a little boost!"  Davis threw the stone at Raidramon…

            "**Raidramon, radio-digivolve to…Exraidramon, the swift storm of friendship!**"  Exraidramon had cannons under his belly that looked deadly, and he had lighting patterns painted on his armor.  "Time to test out this form!  Electric Charge!"  Exraidramon dashed into one catamarine's foot.  The foot exploded and left the catamarine staggering and with only three feet---which wasn't enough for it to keeps its balance.

            "**Urbo-tor-thera!****  Noh unukreshnaiona djom…**"

            "**Urbo-tor-prie!**"

            "**Urbo-tor-andib!**"  The three-footed catamarine became a quartet of superslagsters and a black box.

            "Exraidramon!  Give some of that action to the other two!"

            "Electric charge!"  Exraidramon de-legged the other two catamarines, and they decided it was time for a little re-grouping.  Both catamarines disassembled, but then two of the black boxes and ten of the remaining superslagsters fused again:

            "**Urbo-tor-prie!**"

            "**Urbo-tor-andib!**"

            "**Noh kreshnaiona djom…Urbo-tor-thera!**"

            "They came back together?" Tracy asked.

            "Looks like it!"

            "Exraidramon!  We can't keep at this forever!"

            Mermon agreed.  She flew up behind the black box:  she had an idea.  "Mer poleax!" she shouted.  She began hacking away at the black box's tail:  if she could cut through the tail, she might find a way through the black box's armor in the hole she'd make, and a weakness in the black box was a thing they needed to find.  Unfortunately, one of the catamarines got wind of what she was doing and swung its tail at her.  ---or was that so unfortunate?  The wrecking ball missed Mermon by a kilometer and ended up knocking the black box's tail off, doing Mermon's job for her.  "I wonder how I can show my thanks for that…?" Mermon thought aloud.  "Destructor torpedo!" she shouted, firing a missile at the catamarine's head.  The catamarine was blinded for a second, long enough for Mermon to drop a missile into the black box's new orifice.  The missile blasted the vulnerable insides of the black box and destroyed it.

            "Tuli Dra Jalnor!" one catamarine shouted.  A waterfall of lava fell out of the catamarine's cannons.

            "Not so fast!  Totodile, Water gun!  Blastoise, Bubble beam!"

            "You too, Starmie, Staryu!  Use Water gun to stop that lava!"

            "Azumarill, you three!"

            The five pokémon kept the lava from touching the nuke plant.

            "Now, Pidgeot!  Mirror move!"  Pidgeot threw a splash of lava right back in the catamarine's face and blinded it.

            "Who, Ash!  I didn't know Pidgeot knew Mirror move!"

            "I'm glad he does…Snorlax, Blastoise, Bulbasaur, Kingler!  Use your beam attacks and shoot at the catamarine's head!"

            "Scizor, use Metal claw!  Venonat, Psybeam!"

            "Golduck, use Hyper beam!"

            The seven pokémon's combined firepower was enough.  The catamarine fell over.

            "Uh, guys?" Davis asked.  "There are still those superslagsters!"

            "Not for long," Exraidramon shouted as she came to a halt in front of Davis.  "Lightning Cannon!"  His twin canons glowed and shot out a pair of blue sparks.  The superslagsters exploded on impact.

            "One left to go!" Davis triumphantly shouted, looking up at the catamarine.

            "All it takes is a good, high-firepower shot to the head to finish it," Mermon explained.  "I don't have that kind of firepower…on my own, that is."

            "We get the picture," Ash nodded.  "Kingler, Snorlax, Bulbasaur, Blastoise!  Get ready to shoot again!"

            "You too, Golduck!"

            "Aw, great!" Tracy muttered.  "New problem, guys!  They have reinforcements:  throwbacks and spiderstrikes!" 

            "Gimme a break!" Ash muttered.   "Chikorita, Primape, Haunter, I choose you!  See what you can do about those newcomers!"

            "I'll go in and get more help…never mind!" Davis murmured as Tina came running out of the nuke plant with T.K., Cody, and Yolei.

"**Digi-armor, energize!**"

            "**Hawkmon, armor-digivolve to…Anserimon, the fountain of love!**"

"**Digi-armor, energize!**"

            "**Armadillomon, armor-digivolve to…Digmon, the drill of knowledge!**"

            "**Patamon, digivolve to…Angemon!** Time to show these things a few manners!  Angel Rod!"  He hurled his staff through the throwbacks, scattering carburetors everywhere.

            "Tuli Dra Jalnor!" the catamarine shouted, throwing more lava at the nuke plant.

            "Aqua cannon!" Anserimon shouted, firing water to cancel out the blast.

            "Rock cracking!"  Digmon made a crack run through the ground and under the throwbacks' wheels, and half were immobilized.

            Mermon fired a few missiles at the catamarine's head.  "Hey, a little help, here?"

            "Kingler, Snorlax, Hyper beam!  Chikorita, Bulbasaur, Solar beam!  Blastoise, Bubble beam!"  It wasn't long before the catamarine crashed.

            Tina raced forwards, out of the nuke plant.  "Show 'em what you're made of, Mermon!"

            "I was planning on that…"

            "Dar kamna!" a few spiderstrikes shouted, hurling yellow beams at the heroes.

            "No you don't!" Mermon spat, reflecting a few beams away with her ax.  "Destructor Torpedo!"

            "Hand of Fate!"

            "Gold Rush!"

            "Tempest Wing!"  The attacks flew at the spiderstrikes, but only picked off a few.

            "Those things are agile," Misty thought to herself.

            "No kidding," Tracy agreed.

            "I have a plan," Ash bragged.  "Pikachu, go!"

            "PIKACHU???" Misty and Tracy simultaneously asked.

            Pikachu raced forward.  He was so small that the spiderstrikes didn't even notice as he raced beneath them.

            "Pikachu, use Thunder!"  Pikachu charged up his most powerful attack and smacked the flying, ungrounded spiderstrikes with such a blast of electrical energy that they were all too dizzy to fight back.

            "Starmie, Rapid Spin!  Staryu, Double-Edge!"

            "Venonat, Stun Spore!  Scizor, Fury Cutter!"

            "Tempest Wing!"          

            "Angel Rod!"

            It wasn't long before the spiderstrikes fell.

            "That wasn't so tough!" Tina thought aloud.  Then she let out a yelp of surprise, and disappeared into the mist of rain.

            "Tina…?  _TINA??!!_" Yolei screamed.  "Tina, it's not funny!  Answer me!"

            "Look!" Ash shouted.  He saw the outline of a throwback through the mist, moving away as fast as it could.

            "After it!" Yolei yelled.  But as soon as she said that, an army of saberstrikes jumped out of the alleys around the plant.  "NO!" Yolei screamed….


	45. Chapter 44: Anarchy

Chapter 44:  Anarchy

            Digmon regressed back to Armadillomon.  "Cody, I think we need Archaeopteryxmon, here!"

            "Right!"

            "**Armadillomon, digivolve to…Ankylomon!**"

            "**Ankylomon!**"

            "**Angemon!**"

            "**DNA digivolve to…Archaeopteryxmon!**"

            Archaeopteryxmon spun his mace over his head.  "Bludgeon Smite!" He yelled, flying through the saberstrikes and smashing them to pieces as he went.  He felt a blast of sonic energy rip through his body, and he felt very sick to his stomach.

            "You're not getting away with her!" Mermon flew over the heads of the saberstrikes, but she couldn't escape getting hit by some sonic attacks, herself.

            Ash yelled, "Blastoise, Bulbasaur, Chikorita, Haunter, Kingler, Snorlax, Pikachu!  Try to get rid of as may saberstrikes as you can!  Pidgeot, use quick attack and try to get past them without taking a hit!"

            "Scizor, Venonat, Azumerril!" Tracy commanded.  "Give Pidgeot as much cover fire as you can!"

            "Electric Charge!" Exraidramon howled as he raced with all speed for Tina and her kidnapper.  But it was no use:  he was hit with several sonic attacks and regressed to Veemon before he made it.  Pidgeot had equal success; he was hit by too many sonic attacks, and Ash had to call him back.

            Yolei shouted in desperation, "Anserimon, you've got to radio-digivolve!"

            "But which stone works on me?"

            "The water stone looks like it'd be the best choice," Misty yelled, throwing the stone to Yolei.

            "Anserimon, digivolve!" Yolei shouted, relaying the stone to Anserimon.

            "**Anserimon, radio-digivolve to…Cygnusmon, the never-ending fountain of love!**"  Cygnusmon looked like a huge, long-necked swan, armed with a trio of cannons.

            Yolei jumped on Cygnusmon's back.  "Time to get her back!  This is our last shot, Cygnusmon!"

            "I am aware of that…Flood Cannon!"  Cygnusmon shouted.  One of her three cannons fired a tsunami of water out at the saberstrikes and washed them off their feet.  "Barrage Cannon!"  Another cannon spat out cluster missiles that took out another clutch of saberstrikes.

            A loud shout came from their left:  "Not so fast…**Digi-modify:  digivolution, activate!**"

            "**Ewemon, digivolve to…Impostrogarurumon!**"

            "**Jaymon, digivolve to…Nekhbetmon!**"

            "Wha---?" Yolei turned, and two champion-level digimon were running after them.  One looked like Weregarurumon with a shredded cloak of fleece loosely attached to his clothes, and the other looked like a giant vulture.

             "Howling Laser!"

             "Meteor Strike!"

            Cygnusmon took several hits from their attacks.  She fell to the ground, but she didn't go back down to Hawkmon.  "What're you doing??!!" Yolei asked the two champion digimon.

            "I'd think it would be obvious," the first voice answered.  It was the cloaked human again.  "Your daughter now belongs to the Linonian Empire, as does this world!"

            "The Linonian Empire??  What're you talking about?!  _What do you want with Tina_?!?!"

            "You certainly seem overstressed.  Oh, well…you won't have much to worry about in a minute---finish them off them, boys!  **Digi-modify!  Counter-crest digivolution, activate!**"  He put a purple-colored card in a spiral-shaped slit his gauntlet, and the card spun through the slit, activating two screens on his gauntlet.

            "**Impostrogarurumon, digivolve to…Houndramon!**"

            "**Nekhbetmon, digivolve to…Remon!**"

            Houndramon looked like Garurumon, but it was covered with scales instead of fur and had a greenish-blue tint to its skin.  Remon looked like Garudamon, only it had an Egyptian-like headdress and was armed with a spear.

            "Huh, boy!"

            Remon raised its spear to the sky and shouted, "Solar Monsoon!"  A torrent of yellow beams fell out of the sky, but the beams reflected off Cygnusmon's armor.

            "My turn!  Laser Cannon!"  A red beam of light fired out of Cygnusmon's third cannon and knocked Remon backwards.

            Houndramon began making his advance.  Yolei could see that he had some kind of electric attack up his sleeve, so she shouted, "Cygnusmon, take off and use Flood cannon!"  Cygnusmon jumped into the air and used the water to short out Houndramon's attack.  The brunt of the attack also went into Remon.  "Ha!  That's the last we'll be hearing from those two!  Now, let's get Tina back!"

            Cygnusmon turned the other way and began flying after the throwback, but turning around was a big mistake:  she didn't see Remon's spear flying after her.  POW!  Cygnusmon regressed back to Hawkmon.

            "NOOO!!!" Yolei screamed.  She decided to run after the throwback herself, since that was her only chance left.  This was another mistake:  an e-gull flew out of the mist and smacked her with an electric shock.

            It was a few minutes before Ash, Misty, and Tracy found her again.  They put her on Blastoise's shell and carried her back to base, cold and dripping wet.

            When she came to, she was as much a wreck emotionally as physically:  she was so devastated from having lost Tina that she wouldn't even eat.  As she was warming up under a blanket and bathrobe, she insisted, "We _have_ to go back for her!!"

            "Let me get this straight," Takato shot back, stepping into the room uninvited.  "We can go to look for Tina, but you can't go to look for Guilmon?"

            "You have no idea how much Tina means to me---and this complex!  She's the orphanage head!  Without her, the children will---"

            "Oh, so you're rewarding her for working harder?  Well, I worked harder and longer than she did, and that got _me_ a pretty big reward, didn't it?"

            "Takato, stop doing this to her!  You're not helping the situation," Ken insisted.

            Now, Takato switched into anarchist mode:  "I think I am!  It's time for new leadership, here!  Yolei is unfit to be leader!  Look at her!  She's letting her emotions dictate her actions!"

            "Takato, stop it, right now!" Ken yelled.  "You're going too far.  You're confined to your room."

            "…Huh?  I'm trying to do this complex good by getting us a better leader, and you---"

            "Go to your sleeping quarters, _now_," Ken thundered.

            This didn't look good for Takato.  He decided other action was called for.  He stretched out his hand, and Ken and Yolei fell asleep.  "Even if I can't get you out of leadership, you're not about to jeopardize my mission!  And I can't complete it from my room!"  He left the office, determined to get the rest of the information---_before_ they woke up---if he had to put everyone else in the complex to sleep to get it.

            As he left the office, he saw that Davis was watching TV in the lounge, close enough to the office to have seen the entire argument.  But Davis's eyes never left the television screen, so he knew it was safe for him to leave Davis awake…


	46. Chapter 45: Spy vs Spy

Chapter 45:  Spy vs. Spy

            "You didn't anticipate the woman's water attack."

            "We've never had any contact with that digimon before."

            "Perhaps…and, on the other hand, you got us the _exact_ specimen we wanted."  The sub-major looked over at Tina, unconscious and sitting on a folding chair in the command center.  "All-in-all, I'd say this mission had a substantially greater degree of success than failure.  You must---"  There was a loud whistle from Tina's direction that cut the sub-major off in mid sentence.  "Wha---?"  A barrage of white beams flew out at him and the others in the room.

            Seeing his victims were unconscious, Joey let out a loud snort.  "Joey no let Linonian _agazriitato_ have Tina!"

            Joey looked back up at Tina.  He jumped up to Tina's face and began hopping on it.  "Tina wake up!  Tina wake up!" Joey demanded.

            Tina grunted a few times, then opened her eyes and looked.  "…Joey?"

            "Joey think Linonian _agazriitato_ got Tina."

            "…_Agazriitato_?  What're you talking about?"

            "Sleeping guys."  Joey looked at the unconscious Linonian guards and scientists to point them out.

            Tina knelt down next to one.  "These…are _agazriitato_?"

            "Yep-yep!"

            "Then…wait a sec, how do you know?"

            "Joey's family and guys fight with Linonian _agazriitato_ long time."

"Your...family?"

"Other guys that look like Joey. Have two legs, hop, an' is cold here. Is warm, where we come from."

"Where you come from? But...the Digiworld wasn't much warmer than Earth...so that means that you're not a digimon?"

            "But Tina say Joey _is_ digimon."

            "Joey…where are you from?"

            Joey gave the question some thought, then let out an excited whistle and hopped off the floor.  "Joey know how to show Tina!  Joey fix-it!  Joey fix-it!"  He hopped up to a computer terminal and began working the tiny controls with such finesse that Tina couldn't believe her eyes.  All the while, he left a slick, telltale trail of petrolatum on the controls, making for an interesting prank for any _agazriitato_ who would use the controls later.

            At Joey's command, a star chart opened up on screen, and Joey let out a whistle of victory.  "Joey come from here," he said, pointing to one of the stars.

            "Is that…outer space?"

            "Yep-yep."

            Tina's mouth dropped open as she began to see what was going on with Earth being brought to its knees.  "What're the _agazriitato_ doing here?"

            Joey let out a snort of frustration.

            "You don't know?"

            "Joey not know."

            "Then…the datacube!  When I found you, you had a datacube with you.  What was it?"

            "Data-cube?  Thing Tina puts in computer to play video games?  Joey's…what is the word…_friend_ give it to him."

            "Your friend gave it to you?"

            "Yep-yep."

            "Then…what was in it?"

            "What video game it make computer do?  …Joey not know.  Friend no tell.  But friend know that _agazriitato_ no hafta get it."

            "…You mean the _agazriitato_ mustn't get it?"

            "Nope-nope.  Hafta not get it."

            Tina rubbed her head.  "Where are we?"

            "_Agazriitato_'s house."

            "Then…I wonder if Guilmon is here, too…?"  Tina began walking towards the door.

            "Tina wait a sec," Joey said.

            "Huh?"

            "Tina no should be in _agazriitato_'s house without _Non otawawo_."  Joey flipped one of the guard's weapon's up at her.  She caught it.

            "Cool," she thought aloud.

            "Tina take 'em all."  Joey flipped up a whole bunch of little cannons, and Tina couldn't catch all of them.  "Joey no want _agazriitato_ get 'em back."

            "…Okay."

******

            Since Yolei and Ken were both out like lights, Takato knew he'd safely be able to get Hawkmon and Wormmon's DNA.  He crept into the room and found a few of Hawkmon's feathers.  Wormmon wasn't so easy to get a sample from; Takato couldn't find anything that would give him help with getting a DNA sample.  It would have to be a blood sample.  So he killed some time looking for him and found him in the lounge, sitting next to Davis and Veemon.  "Hey, Wormmon?  I need to talk with you a sec."

            "Okay."  Wormmon hopped off the couch and crawled after him, into the office.  He was surprised to see Ken and Yolei asleep, and even more surprised when he saw a needle coming out of Takato's hand, and it looked like Takato was about to use it---on Wormmon!  "Sticky net!" he shouted, spitting webbing at Takato.  It did him no good; Takato tore the strings off and came closer to Wormmon.  He stretched out his hand, and Wormmon fell asleep, too.  Takato picked up Wormmon and drew out enough blood for a DNA sample. Once the sample was full, he dropped Wormmon back down to the floor.

            Takato sneered.  He had already obtained samples of Patamon's fur, one of Hawkmon's feathers, and one of Armadillomon's scales, so he'd gotten samples from all six of the D-3 Digidestined's digimon.  All that was left was to transmit the last four back to base.

            He triumphantly marched out of the office towards the door to transmit more cleanly.  POW!  He didn't see it coming, but Veemon had smacked him in the back with his Vee boomerang attack, right in the motor processing node.  He couldn't move.

            Davis, still sitting on the couch and _still_ not taking his eyes off the television set, yelled, "If you think you can go attacking people like that, you're dead wrong!  I don't think you're even _really_ Takato!  Who are you, and who are you with?!"

            The gremlin inside Takato's robot body snarled.  "Well, at least I can still transmit…"  He began sending out the DNA sequences through his broadcast antenna.  "Once the transmission is finished, I'll have to escape this body somehow…"

            "What do we do with him, Davis?" Veemon asked.

            "Is he alive?"

            "Doesn't look like it."

            "Then take him to Cleaver's lab."

            "I could use some help."

            "Cover my eyes."

            Veemon, as usual, covered Davis's eyes and Davis got up, switched off the television set, and began dragging Takato to Cleaver's lab, hoping that Cleaver would be able to explain something about Takato's behavior.


	47. Chapter 46: Mission Briefing

Chapter 46:  Mission Briefing

            "Yikes…this guy isn't human at all," Cleaver thought aloud.  "Just looking at the wound Veemon made, I can tell that he's an android.  Look:  wires and metal are in the wound, not flesh and blood.  This thing isn't Takato.  It's not even organic."

            "Did we kill him?"

            "Let's see…" Cleaver began peeling away the fake, plastic skin on the android's body.  He saw that most of the components were still working.  "Doesn't look like it, no.  But---hmm…Looks like most of the wires go from the spot where he got hit to the motors working his arms and legs…so…I think that he's still alive; he just can't move."

            "Better fix that," Davis thought aloud.

            "Right."  Cleaver got out a scissors and a pair of insulated gloves, and he began madly cutting wires in the android.  It wasn't long before the components stopped.

            "Good riddance," Veemon thought aloud.

            "No kidding.  Now, I can get around to dismantling this guy and figuring out what makes him tick us off."  Cleaver chuckled.

******

            Tina wondered how strange it was that this base was built for tiny creatures, and yet the halls were not made for tiny creatures: they were big enough for her to walk through.

            Joey all of a sudden motioned for a halt.  "_Praze-ator-epio__!_" he hissed.  He began running in the other direction and hid in a doorway.  Tina did the same thing and pressed her back against the wall so that they wouldn't see her as they marched past.  She saw that they were mandroids, and that they were marching through the halls, two-by-two.

            She looked down at Joey after the mandroids had passed.  "How do we stay away from those things?"

            "Joey think disguise would work.  Lookit!"  They entered the room they had ducked into, and they found that it was a scrap yard for discarded menace machines.  Tina left the room with the outer metal shells of a mandroid tied to her with loose wiring.  It was tough to guess who this disguise would fool, but it was better than nothing.  She felt like she was in a medieval suit of armor, and she had to walk on tiptoes to fit the full length of the mandroid's legs.  She walked through the halls quietly, trying to remain as inconspicuous as she could.

            "So," she whispered to Joey, "Where would you say the _agazriitato_ are keeping Guilmon?"

            "Joey not know."                                                                                                                    

            "Well, I need to find him, my digivice, and my digi-egg."

            "Joey would think they keep things they take from Tina in _pagasht__' rewenutha_."

            "Where would that be?"

            "There," Joey answered.

            "Where?"

            "_There!_"  Joey snorted in frustration.  He didn't know the words for "left" or "right", so he jumped out of the mandroid disguise and hopped to the door, looking inside to point it out.

            Tina walked in, and there were several objects in transparent plastic containers.  She looked at them, and saw that several were Takato's digi-modify cards.  Another was Takato's D-Arc.  Still more were Takato's backpack and the humanitarian gear and emergency clothes that had been inside his backpack.  More were samples of clothing whose owners she'd never known.  But the two that most interested her were her digi-egg of adventure and her rust-colored digivice.  She opened the containers and pulled out the digivices, cards, and her digi-egg.  "Some good these do me without Youngdramon."

            "When Tina get back to other house, Tina can see Youngdramon again."

            "But we need to find Guilmon first.  Where would he be…" Tina slapped her forehead.  "Of course!  If I were an alien, I'd put my prisoners in my lab!"

            "Lab?"

            "Place where they study guys that are alive."

            "Alive?"  Joey snorted.  "Duh!  Guilmon in _khneretato_!"

            "Where's that?"

            "Joey not know."

            "Joey say when he sees it," Tina suggested.

            "Okay…" Joey jumped into Tina's pocket again.  The two of them had a long, scary stroll through the rest of the complex until they finally found the _khneretato_ that Joey had mentioned.  There were a few scientists inside the lab, and they were surprised to see a mandroid walk in while they were working.  Joey let out a war-cry whistle and jumped down, _non otawawo _in hand.  He began madly firing at the scientists, and Tina joined in.  Once it was apparent that all the scientists were unconscious, Tina took the mandroid's armor off herself.

            "So…what do you think's going on, here?" she asked Joey.

            "Why Tina think Joey know?  Joey is little digimon.  Not know what _agazriitato_doing."

            "Hmm."  Tina tiptoed around the lab, and came upon the forms of several humans, floating in huge, cylindrical, plastic vats.  The strange thing was that the humans were covered in strange suits that completely covered their skin, and those suits had tubes running from them that seemed to slowly tap some kind of fluid away and collect the fluid in a vial.  Tina looked at a vial's contents, and it didn't seem to be blood or plasma.  So…what was it?

            She picked up the vial and opened it.  A waxy, biological smell hit her in the nose.  "What is this stuff?"

            "Stuff Joey don't have that humans have.  If Joey had this, wouldn't need wear petrolatum."

            "Huh?  Is this…skin oil?"

            "Yep-yep."

            "Why would they be taking skin oils from people?" Tina wondered out loud.

            "Joey not know."

            Tina sighed.  "This is _all_ way too weird."

******

            They were in a staff meeting, and they were planning a search-and-rescue mission.  "How are we supposed to find them?" Kari asked.  "We don't know if the enemy base is anywhere near Japan!"

            "That's easy.  Izzy?" Yolei asked.

            Izzy pulled out his laptop and switched on the overhead projector.  "Gennai gave me a radar program for my laptop while we were still fighting the Dark Masters in the Digiworld.  It would let me find Tina if she were anywhere on Earth, but we don't know how the time anomalies would affect the program.  So far, we've gotten five, brief signals from her digivice.  Three out of five of the signals have come from here," Izzy motioned with his laser pointer.  "It's the most logical place to have a base-of-operations against digimon and humans; it's a sparsely populated island south of Honshu Island---or it _was_ sparse before the time anomaly took over.  There are probably no people there, now, considering what the time anomaly did to the rest of the world's population.  …And the fact that they would kill anybody who was there…"

            "So we attack there?" Davis asked.

            "With all the D-3 Digidestined and their digimon, except T.K. and Cody.  They'll hold down the fort at base with Brock and Misty and the originals.  Ash and Tracy will be with us.  The Monsters Moochi, Suezo, Tiger, and Hare are coming along with us, too."

            "When do we leave?"

            "Right after we eat."

******

            "**Hawkmon, digivolve to…Altairmon!**"

            "**Altairmon!**"

            "**Gatomon!**"

            "**DNA digivolve to…Swampangemon!**"

            "**Swampangemon, mode-change to…giga mode!**"  Swampangemon picked up the Digidestined, pokémon trainers, and Monsters and put them in her pockets.

            "Time to get our daughter back!" Ken insisted.

            "Hang on, Tina!" Yolei said aloud.

            It was a while before Swampangemon made it to the island.  When she was nearly there, a few green shots from a crackone greeted her.  She answered with a few of her own:  "Static pulse!"  She hurled orange-red beams of electric fire back at the giant squid, and it wasn't long before she'd sunk it.

            "Looks like the welcoming committee's well-aware of us," Kari noted, looking at the incoming c-birds.

            "Time for a little action, huh?" Hare asked.

            "I'm with you!" Suezo agreed.  "Toss me the digi-egg!  **Suezo, module-evolve to…Saw-grass!**"

            "**Hare, module-evolve to…Firabbit!**"  The two Monsters flew out of Swampangemon's pockets and began taking pot shots at the incoming c-birds.

            "This could get ugly, too," Ash thought to himself, clutching Charizard's and Pidgeot's pokéballs.

            "No kidding," Tracy agreed.


	48. Chapter 47: The Fight Continues

Chapter 47:  The Fight Continues…

            "Pidgeot, use gust attack on those c-birds!" 

            "Scizor, use metal claw!" 

            The two flying pokémon began firing on the incoming c-birds, and they were picking them off one-by-one.

            "Clinker Beam!"

            "Blossom blade!"

            More c-birds were buying the farm every moment, but they were returning fire.

            "**Wormmon, digivolve to…Stingmon!**  Lightning Spike!"

"Roto-saw!"

            "Bludgeon blade!"  Firabbit and Stingmon began using their blades to reflect the shots right back into the droves of c-birds.  Again, more and more were getting picked off.

            "This is _way_ too easy," Hare thought to himself.  "Chaotic, but easy.  There's going to be a catch---"

            "YoNon Gazrii!"  Blue spheres of energy flew up at the congregated heroes.

            "You had to say that, didn't you?" Saw-grass spat as he reflected a few gorillouts' shots away.

            "My bad," he agreed, slicing a c-bird in half.  "You know, I wish someone would take care of them---"

            "That would be our job," Ash thought aloud.  "Tauros, Snorlax, Kingler, I choose you!" 

            "**Veemon, digivolve to…Exveemon!**"

            "**Moochi, module-evolve to…Turtledove!**"

            "**Tiger, module-evolve to…Thunderdog!**"  Thunderdog rode Exveemon down to the gorillouts below.  "Time for you to see what we think of you taking over a world that doesn't belong to you!  Jacob's Ladder!"

            "Rapid vee laser!"

"Tempest Cannon!"

            "Kingler, Snorlax!  Hyper Beam!  Tauros, use Fissure!"

            The gorillouts didn't last much longer than the c-birds.

            Swampangemon landed and let everyone else out of her pockets.  "Now, I'll try to break through their line!  **Swampangemon, mode-change to…micro mode!**"  Swampangemon became a tiny creature, no larger than a playing card.  She flew as fast as she could towards the building she saw in the middle of the island.

            "We need to give her cover fire!" Exveemon shouted.  "And, for that, we'll need firepower!  **Exveemon!**"

            "**Stingmon!**"

            "**DNA digivolve to…Paildramon!**"  Paildramon flew in low.  "Desperado Blaster!" he shouted, knocking more c-birds and gorillouts out of the way.

            The gorillouts had seen enough, so they made a move the Digidestined didn't expect:  "**Praze-tor-ortei****, noh kreshnaiona djom…Praze-tor-arliitu!**"  Fifteen of them fused to become a trio of a new, huge, mega-level type of menace machine:  Giantor.

            "I think we might have a problem," Yolei thought to herself…

GAZRIITOR:

Nickname: Giantor (Jaientōru)  
Real Name: Praze-tor-arliitu  
Caste: Yontor  
Modes: One  
Special Attacks:  
Yon YoNon Gazrii  
Dontato Yon  
Comments:  
The giantor is a nine-story, three-legged menace machine. Its two arms have weapons that can fire out waves of high-firepower energy, but can also produce blades that the giantor can use in hand-to-hand combat. Its overall firepower and defense equate to that of a mega digimon, but, unlike its previous forms of mandroid and gorillout, it is not an amphibious tor and is confined to ground combat. 

******

            Joey looked around and let out a low, quick whistle.  "Hey!  This one different.  No have water in."

            "Huh?"

            "This one dry.  ---Ta-ka-to!" Joey triumphantly yelled, looking down into a vat.

            Tina looked into the vat too, and saw Takato unconscious on the floor of it.  As Joey had said, this had no fluid in it, but Takato had liquid-filled tubes running into his skin through needles.  "Takato, can you hear me?  They didn't catch you _again_, did they?" Tina asked.  She shook his shoulder.  "Takato? ...He won't wake up, but he's still breathing..."

            Joey snorted.  "Joey fix-it!" Joey spat.  He jumped up to a computer console and, again, began working the controls with incredible finesse.  A different liquid began running through the tubes to Takato's body, and he began to come to.

            "Where---am I?" he asked.

            Tina reached into his vat.  "Hold still.  This'll hurt a little," she cautioned.  She yanked the needles out Takato's skin, one-by-one.

            "_OW_!!  Hey, watchit, that stings!"

            "Look, those needles have to come out before you can move out of this tank!"

            "But I didn't ask for you to---hey, easy!"

            "And it'd help if you could be quiet; I don't know when more guards will come in."

            "Well, _you're_ certainly not helping!"

            "Yes, I am!"

            "Well, let me pull my own out, okay?"

            "You can't:  the human being has an instinct for not hurting himself, and it hurts to take the needles out!  Come on!" she spat, yanking out another.

            "_Stoppit__!_" he hissed.  After a few failed attempts to pull more out himself, Takato sighed, winced in preparation, and said, "Okay…start again.  OW!  …EEE!  Ow-OW!  …OOOOOOooooooooooooh!  ---_eee!!_  OUCH!  …Is that all of them?"

            "I dunno…try getting up."

            "Okay---YOW!"

            "Nope."

            "Actually, that was just the last one---ugh!  By the time I get out of here, I'll be one giant scab!"

            "Don't worry.  We found your humanitarian gear, and there was a first-aid kit in there."

            "Right now, I'm more concerned about my digivice and modify-cards."

            "I have those, too," Tina answered, pulling the cards and D-Arc out of her pocket.

            "Thanks.  Where's Guilmon?"

            Joey answered, "In sink, same as Ta-ka-to was in.  He wake up, now."

            "Huh…?"

            "Oh, great!" Tina muttered.  "Are we gonna have to take the needles out of him, too?"

            "No, I can take them out of myself," Guilmon answered.  "I don't have a not-hurt-myself instinct; if my leg were in a bear trap, I'd gnaw it off and grow another."

            "That would be tough for me to do," Takato answered.

            "So…what now?" Tina asked.  "I only have one mandroid disguise, so…what do we do to get out of here?"


	49. Chapter 48: Exodus

Chapter 48:  Exodus

            Paildramon sneered at the giantors.  "Don't you even _think _that you'll get away with taking Tina!  Desperado Blaster!"  He fired at the giantors, but his shots didn't seem to have much effect.

            "Looks like we need to fight fire with fire, Paildramon!" Davis shouted.

            "I'm with you," Ken agreed.

            "**Paildramon, mega digivolve to…Imperialdramon!**"

            Imperialdramon began firing at the giantors with his huge cannon, and he was having a lot more success attacking them than he did as Paildramon.

            "Yon YoNon Gazrii!" one of them shouted back.  The holes in its arms opened and revealed a pair of weapons that hurled out waves of energy.  Imperialdramon was too fast for them to touch him.

            "Back at you!  Patriot Marauder!"  Imperialdramon spat a volley of missiles at the giantors, and they staggered again.  Imperialdramon rushed at one and knocked him over.  Unfortunately, the giantor gave him a kick in the belly for that and ended up throwing Imperialdramon on his back.  "Ooooooooooh!  I'll be feeling that one in the morning…Ultra Cannon!"  He shot the giantor again and made him skid along the ground towards one of the two other giantor.  The one it was skidding towards stepped over it with unbelievable finesse.  "I'm getting sick of this!" Imperialdramon spat.  "**Imperialdramon, mode-change to…fighter mode!**"  Imperialdramon made a sword stick out of his cannon.  "Payback time!"

            "Yon YoNon Gazrii!"

            "Imperial Sword!"  Imperialdramon reflected the energy wave right back in the giantor's face.  Then he spun around and smacked the giantor with his sword, knocking his head off.  "Good riddance!"

            Meanwhile, Swampangemon was making her way into the enemy's complex.  She slowly crept inside and kept to the ceiling, hoping that nobody would think to look for her there.  _Now_, she thought to herself, _If__ I were some "Linonian Empire" goon, where would I hide Tina?_

            She looked inside one room, and she saw that there were several unconscious gremlins and one unconscious young man.  _What…could've done that?  Unless there's another enemy, or another Digidestined…?  Or maybe Takato broke out?_  She moved on and found that there were a lot of mandroids in that complex…too many to fight, even for an ultimate digimon.  So she still kept in hiding by flying close to the ceiling.

******

            Sirens suddenly blared a strange warning.  "Uh-oh," Tina murmured.  "Looks like they found us."

            "What do we do?" Takato asked.

            "You get back in your little vat-thingies.  I'll get in my mandroid disguise and pretend like I'm getting dissected in here."

            "Do we hafta stick those needles back in?" Guilmon asked.

            "Not if you just shut the lids over your vats.  Maybe they won't look inside.  Just in case they do, use this on them." Tina tossed Takato one of the weapons Joey had taken off the guards.

            They lay motionless for a while---too long a while.  "Does Tina think _agazriitato_ would find us yet? Joey asked.

            "Yeah, it is a little weird that nobody's found us…"

            "Joey fix-it," Joey said.  He jumped out of Tina's pocket and hopped to a computer screen.  He began working the controls again, and looked at the information on the screen.  "This not because somebody in house, this because somebody try get in!"  Joey snorted.  "We get scared for nothin'!"

            "Then…you mean that…someone's attacking this base?" Takato asked.

            "Eight bucks says that it's Mom, trying to get us back!" Tina thought aloud, taking off her uncomfortable mandroid disguise.

            "So…what else does the screen say?"

            "They think somebody already in house!"

"Huh?  …You think that could be us?"

            Swampangemon seemed to come out of nowhere as she changed from her micro mode to normal mode.  "Tina?  Takato?"

            "Thanks, Swampangemon, but we kind of have the situation under control."

            "Oh, really?" Swampangemon asked.  "And how are you planning to get out of here, exactly?"

            "Simple," Takato answered, brandishing up his D-Arc and his modify cards.  "**Digi-modify!****  Digivolution, activate!**"

            "**Guilmon, digivolve to…Growlmon!**"  Guilmon grew to such an immense height that he burst the ceiling of the lab and had his head sticking out the roof.

            "I had to ask," Swampangemon muttered.

            "One question:  is Mom going to kill me for getting kidnapped?" Tina asked.

            "Probably…c'mon," Swampangemon answered.  She flew up and stretched out her hands to help Takato and Tina climb Growlmon's back.  The second she saw the giantors, she set both Digidestined on Growlmon's shoulders and… "**Swampangemon, mode-change to…giga mode!**"

            "This sure doesn't look good for the visiting team," Takato thought to himself.  "Let's see if I can do this…"  He held up a hyper wings card and stared at it intently.  "C'mon!  Change into a blue card!  I need a digivolution to ultimate!  These cards are supposed to change when I need them to!  It happened before!"  But the card didn't change.  Disgusted, he returned it to the deck he held in his right hand…only to find that his upgrade card had turned into a blue card.  He quickly swiped it through his D-Arc.  "**Digi-modify!****  Matrix Digivolution, activate!**"

            "**Growlmon, digivolve to…Wargrowlmon!**"  Wargrowlmon flew up and joined the fight with Swampangemon and Imperialdramon.

            "Tina, go to the others," Takato yelled as Firabbit flew down to pick Tina up.  "DNA digivolve with June to make Mermon!"

            "Will do," she answered as Firabbit tucked her inside his wings to shield her from a stray mandroid's shot.  "One question---how's my mom going to take me coming home in one piece…uh, what was your name?  There are so many creatures fighting for us that I can't keep track of them all."

            "The name's Firabbit," he answered.  "And I dunno how your Mom will react; I hope there'll be promotions involved, though."

            "Knowing her, there might be…" she got off and found two people rushing towards her:  Yolei and Youngdramon.  She ended up in a group hug with them, which felt strange, considering that it was so near such a huge battle.

            June ran up to her with her digivice in hand.  Tina also heard a "**Tibemon, digivolve to…Savamon!**"  Then there was silence (or, considering the noise of the battle, a pause in dialogue), highlighted only by the huge emotion of her mother, having caught her daughter out of the jaws of death.  After a few moments, June, who had been standing there, waiting to DNA digivolve, let out a loud, "Ahem!"  Tina stuck her arm out of the hug with her digivice in hand.  Youngdramon popped out of the hug, leaving only Tina and Yolei.

            "**Youngdramon, digivolve to…Ikudramon!**"

            "**Ikudramon!**"

            "**Savamon!**"

            "**DNA digivolve to…Mermon!**"  Mermon flew up into the fight to give Swampangemon and Imperialdramon support.

            "Hey, Mom," Tina got out of her squeezed lungs.  She didn't dare exhale; her mother was hugging her so hard that she was worried that, if she let out her breath, she wouldn't be able to get it back in, again.

            "_Tina…!_" Yolei sobbed.

            "It wasn't that big a deal, Mom!  All in a day's work, me being a Digidestined and all that---"

            "But we almost _lost_ you!"

            Joey slithered out of the embrace and hopped onto Tina's shoulder.  "Joey want breathe!" he spat.  "Tina no sleep forever when Joey in Tina's pocket!"  (He had to say "sleep forever" because he didn't know the word for "die".)

            "…Say, Mom…I'd kind of like to breathe, too."

            Yolei stopped hugging and clutched Tina's elbows.  She looked into her daughter's eyes, and didn't see the same emotion that she felt in her heart:  Yolei was dying to get her daughter, her _baby_ back from the enemy base.  But Tina wasn't so worried; she wasn't afraid to die for the cause, and so she wasn't terrified by getting captured.

            "So, Mom…miss me?" Tina asked as a joke.

            Yolei slapped her own forehead and covered her eyes, leaving a fingerprint on her glasses.

            Meanwhile, not fifty meters away, the battle raged on.  Swampangemon had gone through so much and stayed in her ultimate form so long that she couldn't handle it any more.  She regressed back to Hawkmon and Gatomon, and were barely strong enough to dodge the attacks that the enemy machines were throwing their way.  Thunderdog picked them both up and raced with all speed to the congregated pack of defending monsters and humans in the middle.  He let Gatomon and Hawkmon off, and Kari raced to pick up both of them, since Yolei was busy with Tina.  She took off her raincoat and wrapped them both up in it.  "Don't worry; you'll both recover form this."

            "Not anytime soon," Hawkmon muttered.  "Even though we never took a hit, I feel like I've been run over by a freight train!"

            "No kidding!" Gatomon agreed.  "What I wouldn't give for a warm bed!"

            "There's another problem," June thought aloud.  "That big guy Swampangemon was taking care of is starting to get the upper hand!"

            It was no lie…and that giantor was planning to go after Imperialdramon, who was still locked in a draw with the other giantor…


	50. Chapter 49: Mission Accomplished

Chapter 49:  Mission Accomplished!

            Imperialdramon could tell that one of the two giantors was getting ready to attack him and was right behind him.  His first thought was to get out of the line of fire, but that would put the congregated group of humans in the line of fire.  So he took the hit from the giantor's attack, but it cost him dearly.  "Ohhhhhh…you guys, I could use some support, here!"

            "There has to be _some_ way we can deal with those things," Ash thought aloud.  "I wonder what its weakness is…let's try…electric attacks!  Pikachu, use thunder!"

            Thunderdog added, "And I'll try Jacob's Ladder at the same time.  We'll see how that handles."  The two fighters hurled their attacks at the giantor's chest.  It was impossible to miss such a huge target, but---unfortunately---the giantor didn't seem fazed.

            "Aw, great!  What if…maybe it's fire!  Charizard, Quilava, I choose you!" 

            Firabbit aimed his cannon at a point where the giantor looked vulnerable.  "Clinker Beam!"

            "Charizard, Quilava, use Flamethrower and help Firabbit attack that thing!"

            The three attacks made giantor's arm glow a hot red, but the giantor shot back, forcing them to stop their attacks and dodge.

            "I wonder if…maybe it's normal beam attacks!" Tracy shouted.

            "Right.  Snorlax, Kingler!  Hyper Beam!"

            "Tempest Cannon!"  The deadly rays smacked the giantor on the chest, but didn't seem to do much.

            "There has just _got_ to be a way to finish that thing without wearing out everyone!" Saw-grass moaned.

            "I have one idea," Takato shouted.  "**Digi-modify!****  Upgrade, activate!**"  Wargrowlmon's firepower increased, and he lined himself up for a shot at one of the giantors.  "Atomic Blaster!"

            "Yon YoNon Gazrii!" the giantor returned his shot and cancelled it completely.  The giantor launched a second shot, and that hit Wargrowlmon squarely, forcing him to regress back to Guilmon.

            "Are you _sure_ there's a way to finish this thing?" Firabbit asked Saw-grass.

            "Not really, no…"

******

            "Uh…Metalgarurumon?  We're a little off-course," Matt thought aloud.  "We were supposed to be at Honshu Island, but we're a little south of there---"

            "You're not kidding, Matt!" he answered.  "But this might not be a bad thing!  Look!"  Right in front of them was Imperialdramon and a whole bunch of other fighters, battling with a group of other menace machines…ones they hadn't seen before.

            "Looks like they could use a hand."

            "Right!  Ice Wolf Claw!" Metalgarurumon shouted, firing a barrage of blue ice out his mouth at the giantor.  It froze solid.

            "…I guess its weakness was ice, then," Tracy thought out loud.

            "Or maybe this guy was just powerful enough to dish out an attack like that," Firabbit said.  "Is he one of ours?"

            "I'm not sure, but it looks like he is," Kari answered.  She shouted up to them, "METALGARURUMON??  MATT?!"

            The digimon flew down and landed...it was Metalgarurumon, all right, and Matt was on his back, looking the worse for wear. He was shivering cold from wind resistance, even though he wore a long raincoat that he had pilfered from the grocery store. "Yeah, it's good to be back…aw, _great_!  Not you, too?!" he asked, hopping off Metalgarurumon's back and looking at Kari.

            "Yeah, I got turned back into a thirteen-year-old, too.  You're no better; you look more like eleven!"

            "I know, and---"

            "Wait a sec, how did you get Gabumon to digivolve to mega like that?"

            "The same way I did before.  I can't explain it!  It must be that whatever turned me into a kid _also_ gave me back my crest!"

            "Whoa.  There's a good-news-bad-news story."

            "What exactly is the plan, here?" Metalgarurumon asked.

            "At first, it was to get back Tina.  Now, it's take out this Linonian base once-and-for-all!"

            "Linonian?"

            Ash walked up to Matt.  "There was a guy---a _human_, and he's with whoever's controlling those menace machines.  While he was capturing Tina, he said that Tina was the property of the Linonian Empire."

            "Empire?  That doesn't sound too good…"

            "I know.  That's why we're destroying the base."

            "With Metalgarurumon's missiles, that'll be a snap!"

            "Hold on," Tina yelled.  "There are _people_ in there, _humans_!"

            "What?"

            "In their lab, there were a whole bunch of humans, and the Linonians were harvesting their skin oils!"

            "What?!?!" Yolei asked.

            "Mom, I'm not kidding.  There were people and in-training digimon floating in these big, plastic vats and they were in these weird suits that covered their entire skins.  There was fluid running away from the suits in tubes, and those tubes were harvesting the people's skin oils!  I don't know why, but this is what they're doing to people!"

            "…But---"

While Yolei and Tina had been discussing this, Matt suddenly got the feeling that he was being watched. He looked over his shoulder, and saw a wide-eyed and incredulous June. Matt swallowed hard.

"Matt...is it really...you???" she asked.

"Um...who wants to know?"

"..._Matt!!!_ I missed you so much!" June dove into Matt's arms. That was a big mistake: flying over the pacific ocean through two rainstorms and several hours of cold wind tends to draw the heat out of a person's body. So Matt felt like an ice cube to June. "You're not Matt!" June gasped. "You're...you're..." June was so shocked that she was at a loss for words. "You're some kind of wraith, aren't you?"

"Um...what if I am?"

"I _knew_ it was way too good to be true! You couldn't have been Matt! You're some weird figment of my imagination come to life, and taken over by a demon!"

Matt considered the question of whether he should tell her the truth or not. "...Well..."

June ran away from his screaming.

"What was that about?" Youngdramon asked.

"I don't know, _exactly_," Matt answered, "But I like the way it turned out."

            The situation suddenly worsened:  a group of catamarines, gorillouts, and cybertooths was coming up out of the water.

            "Aw, great!  Even with two mega digimon and all these ultimates and advanced Monsters…I don't think we can take that many," Yolei thought aloud.  "We got what we came for; let's head home!" she shouted.  "Imperialdramon!  Retreat!"

            "**Imperialdramon, mode-change to…dragon mode!**"  He beamed the heroes into the force field on his back and flew back to Tokyo.

            "Well, all-in-all, this was a great day," Tina sighed.  She picked Joey up and gave him a hug.  "Thanks for saving my neck back there!"

            Joey let out an affectionate whistle.  "It was nothin'!  Joey no let stuff eat Tina!"

            Tina giggled.  "There's one other thing, Mom.  Joey's not a digimon."

            "Then…what is he?"

            "He's from some other race that's been fighting the Linonians for a long time.  He doesn't know much English, so he can't tell us more.  …But I know where we can get more information."

            "Where?"

******

            The sub major slowly came to and picked himself up.  "What was that?" he asked.  "How did we go unconscious?"

            The cloaked young man groaned an answer:  "There was this little baby kangaroo armed with one of your weapons, and he was in that girl's pocket the entire time!"

            "And why wasn't she searched on the way in?!"

            "Hey, don't look at me!  My orders were not to touch anything that was on her!" the thief answered.

            "It…is…the job of security to make sure things like this do not happen!  Guards!  Have those responsible terminated!"

            "Uh…" the human knelt next to the sub major and whispered, "_They_ are the ones responsible!"

            "I am aware of that," he answered, and watched as the guards set their weapons to lethal and shot each other.

            "And…they just _did_ that?"

            "They were under orders, weren't they?"

            "…I guess they were." With a hard swallow, he asked, "So…uh, what're _my_ orders?"

            "Wait until our scientists make for you a new gauntlet and improve on your digi-clones.  We have new information; our operative managed to return us a great deal of data before his body went offline.  It is only too bad that we couldn't make a doppelganger for our other catch."

            "No kidding.  Well, then, I'll be in my quarters."  He walked to his private room, sat down on the bed, and thought about the rewards that were in store for him after his job as an agent was done.  He wondered what it would be like to be able to boss people around, especially hoochies... "Oh, yeah…life is about to get good for me!"


	51. Chapter 50: Back to Business as Usual

Chapter 50:  Back to Business-as-Usual

            Tina walked into her and Rika's room with a happy air about her.  "It's so good to be back and alive!  Hello, room!" she shouted.  She bent over and shook Renamon's paw.  "Hello, Renamon!  Hello, desk!  Hello, squeaky desk lamp!"  She sat in the chair and spun the desk lamp around its base just to hear its annoying squeak.  "…Ah!  It's great to be back!"

            Renamon had been asleep until Tina stepped, but---despite the rude awakening---she was happy to see Tina.  "Great to see you've come back in one piece," she said.  She gave the backside of Tina's cheek a nuzzle in a very dog-like way.

            "Thanks, Renamon.  I see that Rika isn't so glad to see me…she's still asleep?" Tina looked at Rika, who had her face buried in her pillow.

            "Doubt it.  She's…just in one of her moods."

            Tina looked at Youngdramon, and Youngdramon began fingering the roll of duct tape that was always around her wrist.  "Well, if **_we_** can't snap her out of it---"

            Rika jumped out of her top bunk and dashed out of the room at full speed.  She barely touched the ground before she made it to the door.  "_Gotta__ go to the bathroom, see ya in a minute_!" she quickly said on her way out.  The door slammed shut in their faces.

            "Uh…what was that about?" Youngdramon asked.

            "She'd…been crying.  She didn't want you to see her cry."

            "About what?" Tina asked.

            "About you, I think.  She was worried that she'd never see you again and that thought scared her.  I didn't want to tell you in front of her."

            "Good move.  …Wow, it's weird to think that she thinks of me as a friend!"

            "Scary?" Youngdramon asked.

            "No, not scary.  I'm not scared of her:  if things get out of hand, we'll just duct-tape her down in her bed again."

            "Over my dead body!" Renamon snorted.

            "Actually, over your duct-taped body," Youngdramon corrected, pulling a strip off her roll.

            Tina sighed and walked back towards the door.  "You know, I've got some catching up to do with the orphanage.  There's a little project of mine that I'd like to see the progress of."

            "I'm riding shotgun," Youngdramon said, waddling with her to the orphanage.

            "That's a good idea; I don't think Rika would be happy to see you here when she comes back," Renamon cautioned.

            "She won't!"

            Tina entered the orphanage, and there was an immediate cry of delight.  "Ti-naa-a-a-a!"  Ingrid dashed up to her and wrapped her arms around Tina's waist.

            "Hey, Ingrid!  How've you been doing?"

            "Ti-na!"

            Tina smiled.  She picked Ingrid up and carried her to where Natasha had her bedroll set up.  "Is this the first she's moved from that spot?  Besides to use the bathroom, that is?"

            "No, I've been trying to teach her how to use the Nintendo Quantum while you were gone…but I thought I heard something about you maybe not coming back?"

            "I wouldn't leave you hanging like that!"  Tina gave Ingrid a kiss on the cheek.  "Or Ingrid."

            "Tina!" Ingrid answered, returning the kiss.

            "So…have I been missed?"

            "Ingrid didn't stop asking for you at all during your trip!  Every mealtime, she'd say, 'Tina?' and every time Brock or Kari would take her by the hand and lead her to the bathroom, she'd ask them, 'Tina?'  She wouldn't stop asking for you at every chance!"

            "Wow.  …Good to know I'm worth something, here."

            "And it's good to have you back.  There have been enough people dying, already."

            "Amen!"  Tina took Ingrid by the hand and brought her to one of the game systems that was hooked up to a big-screen television.  It was a Playstation IV, and there were datacubes games for the system stacked up next to it in a huge pile.  Tina asked the boys who were playing on it, "Can we have a turn after you're done?"

            "Sure," one of the two boys answered.  They were pounding the tar out of each other's virtual players with strange, impossible punches and kicks.

            The sight of the fighting on the television and the noise of the players' grunting scared Ingrid a little.  She clutched Tina's elbow and whimpered, "Scared…scared…"

            Tina picked her up.  "Come get us when you're done," she said.

            "Okay."

            Tina carried Ingrid to Natasha.  "The video game was a little violent…it upset her a little."

            "Awww…" Natasha took Ingrid in her arms.  "It's just a video game.  It's not real.  Nothing to be scared of."

            The only word from that sentence that Ingrid understood was the word "scared."  So she agreed, "Scared."

            "No scared," Natasha insisted.

            "_Scared!_"

            "No scared," Natasha whispered again.

            One of the two boys walked up to Tina.  "We're done.  He beat me.  Guess that means he gets my dessert tonight---"

            "Hold on a sec…you two were _betting_ on this game?"

            "Uh…yeah…"

            "That's against the rules here."

            "So…I get my dessert?"

            "You wish:  _neither_ of you is getting dessert tonight."

            "Well…at least I'm not getting the short end of the stick; I'm no worse off since---"

            "_Or_ tomorrow night…!"

            "…Oh."

            Tina rolled her eyes.  "C'mon, Ingrid!"

            Ingrid shook her head.

            "No scared!" Tina insisted.  "Scary thing gone."

            Ingrid shook her head again and held on tighter to Natasha.

            Tina knelt next to her and asked, "Ingrid like Tina?"

            She didn't know what the word "like" meant, so she kept her mouth shut.

            "Ingrid gonna like it!  No scared."

            "No?"

            "No scared."

            Ingrid weighed her options in her mind, and then decided that she trusted Tina.  She climbed into Tina's arms, and Tina carried her back to the Playstation IV and plugged in a less violent game for her and Ingrid to play:  Super Mario World.  It was a thirty-five-year-old game, and it had had several rewrites over the past decades.  Yet it was still as classic as Pac-man, and still played and revered as one of the best games of the twentieth century.  Its basic design was a template for a lot of games to come:  there were midway goals halfway through the level and animals to ride…things used again and again in future platform games.

            "Ingrid gonna like…"  Tina began humming along with the theme music, and the bright colors and blipping and knocking noises the game made began to fascinate---even entertain Ingrid.  She giggled at the flattened koopas and the flipped-over goombas that Tina knocked out of the way.  She even giggled as Mario fell off the screen when he died.

            When Tina was done, she looked at Ingrid.  "Fun?" she asked.

            "Fun!!" Ingrid declared.

            Tina fed her, took her to the bathroom, and put her to bed.  After saying good night to Natasha, Tina and Youngdramon went back to their room.

            On the way, Youngdramon piped up, "You know, you're gifted:  I wouldn't be able to stand raising a kid who couldn't understand one word I said.  You and Natasha are just about Ingrid's mothers."

            "Yeah, I know…scary thought, that much responsibility.  That's why I don't think about the responsibility; I just think about how it's fun to watch her grow and learn new words…"

            Youngdramon yawned.  "Well, let me tell you:  I can't wait to get to bed.  You try DNA digivolving and battling eight-story robots, and we'll see how bright and bushy-tailed _you_ are."

            "I'm ready to hit the hay, myself.  I could use a shower, first."

            "Ditto."

            Just as they entered the room, they saw Rika and Renamon talking, but their conversation ground to a halt the moment they saw Tina.  Tina decided to pretend like nothing was weird, and asked Rika, "So…what did I miss?"

            "…Well, the time field you found in the women's room moved into the men's room."

            Tina rolled her eyes.  "What's next?!"


	52. Chapter 51: Operation: Caravan

Chapter 51:  Operation:  Caravan

            "So…what _exactly_ is the plan?" Veemon asked.

            "Yeah," Davis agreed.  "You said it's still in America, along with Pixie and Big Blue.  So…when're we supposed to leave with Imperialdramon?"

            "Not just yet," Yolei answered.  "First, we need to get another catch of fish to trade."

            "To trade with _who_?!" Davis spat.  "Who is there left to trade with, and what would we trade it for?"

            "There are rice patties in the country that some of our seek patrollers have already seen.  It's been a good season for them, what with all this rain we've been getting, and our supplies of rice are almost gone.  And there have _got_ to be some fruit farms in Hawaii, and we'll be able to trade the fish for fruit there.  Hopefully, there will be a few wheat farms in the United States to trade with, too."

            "Huh…so Imperialdramon is gonna carry a big net full of fish to inland Japan and then to Hawaii, and _then_ to Minnesota, and _then_ to Montana?"

            "That's the plan.  But we need to make the fishing trip first, and then we'll need to get a few boxcars to carry the rice and fruit back home in."

            "Huh…this is going to end up being one of the weirdest trips we've ever made!"

            "Amen.  But the fishing trip isn't going to get much easier; this time, we'll be taking six boats instead of just one, like we did the last time."

            "How on Earth will you manage that?  You know how many water menace machines there are!  You could _never_ defend _six_ fishing boats!"

             "I know.  That's why we're getting a little help," Yolei explained.  She looked over Davis's shoulder, and there was an imposing, uniformed man with a military air about him.

            "Who are _you_?" Davis asked.

            "Admiral Charlie Jameson.  United States Navy."

            "You're…from the _navy_?!"

            "Commander of the USS Theodore Roosevelt."

            "And you're in _Japan_?"

            "We were on maneuvers in the northwest Pacific at the time the Digiworld was destroyed.  We were told to report to Japan after that, and we were on our way when time was torn apart.  We arrived just yesterday."

            "Then…you're going to be defending the fishing boats?  So…who all is going?"

            "Same Digidestined and trainers as before," Yolei answered.

            "You want me to tell the others?" Davis asked.

            "Go do that."

******

            "I can't believe we're sponsoring a _fishing_ trip---" "First, half the crew gets turned into kids or dies, and now---" "What is the Admiral _thinking_?!  If we---"

            …Such was the chitchat that was going on in the crew's mess area, where the Digidestined and pokémon trainers had just come to mingle with the crew---and, as it turned out, the Admiral had a great deal more faith in the Digidestined than the crew.

            "So…what's the plan, here?" Tina asked Youngdramon.

            "Beats me.  Doesn't sound like they're too happy to be chaperoning our date with destiny."

            Tina chuckled.  "This mission should turn out to be great.  So…do we pick a table, or scat?"

            "The admiral told us to pick a table.  That's what I think we should do."

            "Okay…" they sat down at one of the tables, and listened to the conversation for a while before joining in for themselves.

            One young man spat, "I can't believe that you're _complaining_ about this!  Okay, I'll admit that half the crew has clothes that won't fit, but some of the people who have been turned into kids still know how to do their jobs!  And some can even do their jobs _better_ as children!"

            "Frankly, I think you don't know what you're talking about, new guy.  Do you have any friends who have been turned into children?  Did the guy who sleeps in the bunk above you turn into a skeleton overnight?"

            He shook his head.  "No.  I haven't been aboard long enough to make any friends."

            "Then you don't know much about how many people are suffering because of this.  Of course we're complaining!"

            "Funny you should say that, Carter," the new guy shot back.  "Correct me if I'm wrong, but you were sixty and just about to retire---not to mention wanting to stay in the navy---and now you're eighteen?"

            "A new lease on life for me, but the new life I have was stolen from someone else!"

            " 'Stolen'?  You're making this sound like a crime!"

            "What would _you_ call the deaths of thousands of people?"

            "You're missing the point!"

            "So are you, new guy.  If this is a blessing in disguise, it's wearing that disguise to avoid getting identified and arrested for murder."

            "Wow...great metaphor!" Youngdramon whispered to herself. "Um, Tina, when do we step in?" Youngdramon asked.

            "I have one idea."  Tina spoke up:  "Know anybody that this time-thing _didn't_ affect?" she asked.

            "Who are you?" Carter asked back.

            "I'm one of the annoying kids that was working with the refugees."

            "…Tell me this:  what does time getting torn apart mean to _you_?"

            "It means some evil empire is attacking Earth---and the Digiworld."

            "…Where did you get an idea like that?"

            Tina unbuttoned her jacket and said, "Joey?"  Joey's head popped out of her overalls pocket.  Tina heard a few snickers coming from the table.  "Joey, who made time get messed up?"

            "Linonian _agazriitato_."

            "You're sure?"

            "Yep-yep."

            Tina looked back up at the crew sitting at the table.  "Does this look like any digimon you've ever seen?"

            They shook their heads.

            "Run him through your ship's database:  you won't find him in there.  He's not from Earth _or_ the Digiworld."

            "Then where _is_ he from?"

            "Outer space.  Or so he tells me."

            The people sitting at the table stared at her blankly.

            "What?  What is so unbelievable about Joey being from outer space?"

            "That's not what we don't believe," the new guy answered.  "What we don't believe is that you have an outer space alien living in your overalls pocket."

            "…Oh.  Well…he'll freeze to death if he isn't kept warm.  His home planet must be hotter than Earth."  There was a long, awkward pause.  Tina put Joey back in her pocket and smiled.  "I sure hope that I've made in important contribution to your conversation."

            "Let's do this to another table!" Youngdramon thought aloud.

            A few hours later, they were on the decks of the fishing boats and waiting to leave.  The weather seemed to disagree with the Digidestined:  rain mixed with sleet fell out of a gloomy sky.  It wasn't the worst weather they could leave in, but not the best, either.  There were different teams grouped on the six ships, June and Tina formed a team on one, Kari and Yolei were the second one's team, Ash was on the third, Misty and Cody on the fourth, Michael on the fifth, and Joe on the sixth.  Cody gave the same blessing to the flotilla as he had given to the first fishing trip, and they set out.

            What was strangest to them was that the fishing boats were armed with anti-submarine weapons; armed fishing boats were unheard-of before time had been torn apart.  But now, strangeness had become the norm---not to mention danger.  Crews from the USS T.R. were working the guns, and they were all waiting to hear that the T.R. had picked up something on their radar.

            Cody and Submarimon were already in the water, and their job was to look and see what the radar blips were.  There was no sense in wasting ammo on a shoal of fish.  The first thing they saw was another, short-lived crackone.

            "One down, umpteen thousand to go," Cody thought to himself.

            After a few more minutes…

A voice boomed over the two-way radio, "_Cody, we're picking something up on the radar at eleven o'clock!_"

            Submarimon squinted to try and see them at a distance.  "Looks like a new type…they're smaller, but there are a lot of them!"

            "What _are_ those things?" Cody asked.

            "I don't know, but they're not friendly!" he answered, dodging a beam of orange energy.

            Cody shouted into his two-way radio, "These are menace machines!  Submarimon and I are taking them!"

            "_Be careful down there! "_ the communications officer answered.

GAZRIITOR:

Nickname: Barnucle (Bānākū)  
Real Name: Kullae-tor-azig  
Caste: Ro Nut'ka  
Modes: One  
Special Attacks:  
H'vekkota  
Comments:  
The barnucle is to the water what the luftwaffle is to the air: it is intelligent and fast, and knows how to work with other barnucles to attack. It is covered with sensor apparatus and has a single beam weapon on a corner. A common tactic for the barnucle is to attach itself to the hull of a ship and fire on other targets from there; it is difficult to remove barnucles from the hull without damaging the ship. 

            "Oxygen torpedo!"  Submarimon fired a few volleys at the strange, new, tetrahedron-shaped machines.  It didn't take more than two hits to destroy them.

            "We're going to need to report what _exactly_ these things are to Cleaver after this," Cody thought aloud.

            "I agree…uh-oh!  Looks like they're doing their combination thing again!"

            "**Kullae-tor-azig****, noh kreshnaiona djom…Kullae-tor-gaxurii!**"

GAZRIITOR:

Nickname: Tertahedrone (Shitōru)  
Real Name: Kullae-tor-gaxurii  
Caste: Yon Ro Nut'ka  
Modes: One  
Special Attacks:  
V'ver Ota  
Comments:  
The tetrahedrone is a combination of five barnucles. The barnucles' ray weapons can fire beams towards each other to amplify firepower. The tetrahedrone is the water's equivalent of the land's queuebe. Its firepower is on par with ultimate digimon, and it will often attack boats, and, on occasion, water digimon. But it will attack not only with its ray weapons, but also by splitting into barnucles and using barnucle's tactics. 

            "Oxygen torpedo!"  The torpedoes didn't do much damage to the new machine.

            Cody shouted into his radio, "We need an ultimate down here, right now!"

            "**Youngdramon, digivolve to…Ikudramon!**"

            "**Tibemon, digivolve to…Savamon!**"

            "**Ikudramon!**"

            "**Savamon!**"

            "**DNA digivolve to…Mermon!**"  Mermon dove into the water.  "Submarimon, what are these things?"

"More menace machines…I don't know what they're going to try, but my torpedoes won't work on them!  I need to radio-digivolve before I can take them!"

            "Then go and get Misty's water stone!  I'll hold down the fort as long as I can!  Destructor Torpedo!"

            Cody signaled Misty's ship.  "Misty, get your water stone ready:  we're going to need a radio-digivolution, again!"

            "Starmie, go!"  Misty jumped onto Starmie's back and they hovered over the water.  Submarimon surfaced, and Misty bent over and tapped him with the water stone…

            "**Submarimon, radio-digivolve to…Kurodadumon, the unquestionably ** **reliable guardian of ** **the sea!**"  Kurodadumon dove into the water again and face the incoming swarm of tetrahedrones.  "Oxygen Torpedo Volley!" he shouted, firing a spread of torpedoes at the incoming drones.  The individual torpedoes did no more damage than they had before he'd digivolved, but there were more of them than before, so a few tetrahedrones died.

            "There are just too many of these!  We could use some more support!" Mermon shouted.

            "V'ver Ota!" one of the tetrahedrones shouted.  Out from one of the points of the tetrahedrone flew a red laser beam.  Mermon reflected it away with her axe.

            "They're getting angry!  Some help would be good!" Cody yelled into the radio.

            "_Coming right up!_"

            Cody heard an odd noise, and suddenly saw several long, narrow streaks come flying down from the surface.  Those had to have been bullets, since he saw sparks come flying off the armor plating of the tetrahedrones.  But the bullets did no good; the tetrahedrones' armor was too strong.

            "Not working!" Cody shouted.  "Bullets won't help against these things; we need armor-piercing weapons!"

            "_We'll have them there in thirty seconds!_"

            "That might not be soon enough!" Cody yelled back.  Already, one of the tetrahedrones had circled around them and split into five barnucles.  The barnucles attached themselves to one of the ship's hulls, and each barnucle on the ship's bottom began taking pot shots at Mermon and Kurodadumon.  "H'vekkota!" they shouted as they fired orange laser bolts at the two ultimates.

            "We have a situation!" Cody shouted.  "Five of the new machines have attached themselves to ship #3!"

            "_What do you mean, 'attached'?_"

            "I mean that they're clinging onto the hull somehow, and they're shooting at us from there!"

            "_Are they trying to damage the ship?_"

            "No, but they're trying to damage _us_!"

            "_...And you can't shoot them, because blowing them up would damage the boat..._"

            "That's a pretty big problem…where are those armor-piercing weapons?"

            "_They should be arriving any second now!_"

            Before Cody could answer, several air-to-water missiles went flying down form the surface and incinerated the rest of the tetrahedrones.  Unfortunately, the barnucles on the boat's hull still had to be dealt with…

            "So…how do we handle _these_?" Mermon asked, reflecting a shot away from herself.

            "My first guess is we cut them off!  Kuro Claw!"  Kurodadumon clamped his huge claw down on one barnucle and pierced the armor.  The barnucle died quickly, leaving its wreckage on the boat's hull.

            "Good guess!" Mermon agreed.  "Mer poleax!"   The other four tetrahedrones were also turned into scrap iron.

            Tina leaned over the side rail of her boat.  "You know, I'm really getting sick of this!  I have no idea what Mermon is doing, down there!"

            "Ditto," June agreed.  "It's _freezing_ out here!"

            "The weather is the _least_ of our worries, June, what with robots trying to latch on to our hulls and kill us!"

            "I hope one of them uses a fire attack and thaws me out!"

            "Oh, c'mon, June!  It's not that cold out."

            "But it _is_ cold!  It's cold enough that---"

            An underwater explosion showered June and Tina with icy water.  "What was that one?" Tina asked.  She shouted up to the military personnel working the ship's cannon, "Did we get him?"

            There was no answer; the soldiers were too busy working the weapon to answer.

            Tina sighed.  "That's what I hate about this:  they never tell us anything about what's going on!"

            "I guess they figure we can't do anything, anyway---and that's how _I_ feel, right about now!" June mewed, brushing the freezing water off her rainsuit.  "I'm going to turn in to an _ice cube_!"

            "Why don't you just go inside the cabin?" Tina asked.  "It's not like we'll need you to armor-digivolve Mermon, or anything like that…"

            "Thanks…I sure hope they have something warm to drink in there."

            Below the surface, that battle raged on.  Some dra-guns were beginning to make their presence felt.  They fired volleys of shots up at one of the fishing boats, trying to pierce its hull.  Mermon and Kurodadumon got in the way of the shots and tried to reflect as many as they could away, but they couldn't keep all of them away.

            "Uh…Kurodadumon, does it seem a little unsettling that there are bubbles coming out of that hole in the boat's hull?"

            "Maybe a _little_," he answered.

            Cody shouted into his two-way radio, "One of the boats has been hit and is taking in water!"

            "_Which one?_"

            "It's boat number…one, I think!"

            "_You **think**?!_"

            "Whichever boat Tina was assigned to!"


	53. Chapter 52: Digivolving Gets Weirder

Chapter 52:  Digivolving Gets Weirder...!

            There was a patching team in the water before they knew it, working on repairing the hole in the ship's hull.  Tina looked over the edge of the boat's deck and thought to herself, _Man!  These people sure work fast, so long as we don't tell them to!  And when we ask for information, they don't work fast because they don't work at all!_

            Tina vaguely heard her mother scream at her, "_Get away from the side of that boat!!_"  Of course, she didn't listen.  The only reason she did move away was that watching a repair crew isn't all that interesting, especially when they finish and are sitting next to you on deck in under thirty seconds.  Tina sighed.  Similar to the first trip, this trip was both dangerously boring and boringly dangerous.  Although she had a taste for adventure, she didn't like this particular kind of adventure, where you have no clue what's going on and you're literally in the same boat with your fighters…and you're not a fighter.

            Oh, well…the rest of the trip was a lot like that; with an occasional underwater explosion and then her not knowing anything about it.  After a few hours, Mermon came back to boat #1 and regressed back to Tibemon and Youngdramon.  Both rookie digimon were thoroughly bushed, and Tina soon joined June in the cabin.

            "So…any warmer in here?" Tina asked.

            "Yeah," June answered as she took another sip of coffee.  "Anything interesting happening out there?"

            "Hard to say.  I mean, there are explosions and fights going on underwater, but we never hear anything about what's going on."

            "Prbprbprbprbprbprbprbprb…  Y'know, I wonder why we even go on these trips!"

            "Uh…so we won't starve?"

            "I'd prefer being a little hungry to this!"

            "Not me.  When I get hungry, you do _not_ want to come between me and food."

            "Speaking of," Youngdramon said, "When're they going to haul up the catch?  I'm dying for a sushi!"

            "Just…don't eat it right in front of my eyes again, okay?" Tina begged.

            "But, if I do that, it'll keep _you_ from getting hungry!"

            "Ha-ha.  Very funny."

            June sighed and looked out the window.  "How much longer do we have to have to put up with this kind of fight-and-wait, wait-and-fight?"

            "I don't know; they don't tell _me_ anything!" Tina shot back.

            June rolled her eyes.  "Hey, captain!  Skipper?"

            "Don't break my concentration."

            "…Can _anyone_ in this cockpit tell me when we're heading back?"

            "We're heading back _now_…as far as our compasses tell us, anyways."

            "…What do  you that mean by that?"

            Tina nudged her.  "I think it means what you're afraid that it means."

            June shuddered.  "So we could end up lost at sea?"

            "Hey, the USS T.R. made it to Japan easily enough the first time!  If they can make it that far once, they can probably do it again."

            "And if we can't now?"

            "…Well, at least food and water aren't going to be a problem."

            "What do you mean water won't be a problem?"

            "When you're stranded at sea, you collect rainwater to drink, and it's raining outside, isn't it?  And we're on a fishing boat; what could be better for catching food?"

            "Oh, quit being so optimistic!"

            "I'm…not being optimistic.  I'm just stating facts.  If I would say, 'I bet that shore is less than a kilometer away and right in front of our noses,' _that_ would be optimism.  …Don't look at me like that!  I won't do something as uncalled-for as being optimistic!"

            "Good."  June sighed.  The rain outside abruptly stopped, and June said, "I think I might be becoming optimistic---"

            Youngdramon interrupted, "Don't say that!  By saying that, you're becoming optimistic!"

            "No, that was pessimism."

            "…D'OH!!  You're right."

            The captain cut in, "Actually, the shore is a _lot_ less than a kilometer away.  I can see it from here."

            June jumped up and stretched.  "_Finally!_  I was wondering if we'd _ever_ get back!"

            "Hey, being optimistic is uncalled-for, but being pessimistic won't help, either."

            "Yeah, but pessimism _is_ called-for," Tibemon observed.

            "…True, but one question:  if I were to say that we were going to be dragging this pessimism-optimism of optimistic pessimism joke out any longer, would that be pessimism or optimism?"

            "Good question…probably pessimism."

            "Yeah, you're probably right."

            When she had gotten back to the nuke plant, Tina knocked at the door to her and Rika's room.

            "Who is it?" Rika's voice answered.

            "It's me!" Tina yelled through the door.  "Hold your noses!"  Tina slipped in, picked up her pajamas and a towel, and slipped out in record time.  She failed to keep the smell of the fish from leaking into the rest of the room, though.  It was a moment before the smell disappeared, much to Renamon's chagrin.

            When Tina returned, Rika wasn't asleep.  "So…how're things with you in guard duty?"

            "Not so great…we seem to be getting fewer and fewer people coming in from seek patrols."

            "Maybe the well's running dry," Tina thought aloud.

            "What do you mean?"

            "Maybe this is all of the people we can get out of this part of the city.  Maybe we should find another nuke plant further away and set up another base of operations."

            "Who would run it?"

            "Good question.  _I'm_ not going to be able to move from here; there are too many children counting on me in the orphanage.  I guess some of the original Digidestined will be able to go…we have, like (1), eight of them along with eight D-3 Digidestined.  And then we have four pokémon trainers, you three tamers, and---what is it, five disc monsters?"

            "About that."

            "That's twenty-eight people fighting for us.  And I'll bet that we can find a few civilian digimon strong enough to fight with us.  So maybe some of us could move to another plant."

            "I guess…hey, wasn't there something about an Admiral from the navy coming to this plant, or something?"

            "I've seen him myself.  He was heading off our little fishing expedition, but even with an aircraft carrier supporting our fishing boats, those menace machines will still attack us!"

            "Hmm.  Those things aren't too smart…"

            "Well, you know that someone is controlling them."

            "What?"

            "It's true!  They aren't just maverick monsters doing their own free will; they're pawns in a much bigger game!"

            "Some of 'em seemed more like queens to me!  I heard about those giantors that fought Imperialdramon.  …So, did you…learn anything while you were…away?"  Rika suddenly seemed to hesitate, as if thinking about something else.

            "No.  They didn't give us _any_ information on that trip; we could see that there was fighting going on underwater, but the soldiers wouldn't tell us who was winning or losing!"

            "No, not _that_ away, the other away."

            "Oh…you mean when they caught me?"

            "Yeah, that one."

            "Oh…actually, I learned a lot.  Apparently, this whole thing---everything that's happening to Earth---is the result of some Empire from another world.  I don't know which world---I mean, the Dark Ocean planet was destroyed about ten years ago…so where could it be that this 'Linonian Empire' is from?"

            "Got me," Rika answered.

Joey stuck his head out of Tina's pocket. "Joey should've shown Tina their planet when he at computer _agazriitato's_ computer."

"...So they're from outer space! Duh!" Tina slapped her forehead.

Rika swallowed hard. "Great...perfect," she said.

******

            "♪Yoo-hoo! ♪"

            "Wha---?"  Golem, T.K. and Cody spun around, and there was The Cloaked Figure.  They didn't know anything about him, just that he was working for the enemy and that he was dangerous.

            "Looks to me like you're a little down-in-the-dumps…I think that I'll put you out of your misery!  Murkrow, use peck attack!"  A black bird jumped out of his cloak and flew towards T.K. and Cody.

            "Hey, get away!" T.K. yelled as the bird began to peck at him relentlessly.

"Boom Bubble!" Patamon shouted, knocking the Murkrow to the ground.

T.K. snarled.  "What do you think you're trying to pull, anyway?"

            "Oh, I bet you'd be interested to know that, wouldn't you?  Jaymon…show them your new-and-improved form, would you?  **Digi-modify!  Digivolution, activate!**"

            "**Jaymon, digivolve to…Nekhbetmon!**"

            "And now…**digi-modify!  Counter-crest digivolution, activate!**"

            "**Nekhbetmon, digivolve to…Remon!**"

            The Figure called back Murkrow.  He set Murkrow's pokéball in a socket in his gauntlet.  "And now, for the most interesting part of all…**digi-modify!  Co-Op Digivolution, activate!**"

            "**Remon, Co-Op digivolve to…Black Rook!**"  Black Rook was a strange creature.  It looked like some strange cross between a bird and a stone tower.  Its head was an onion-shaped top, and it was crowned with a flag with a strange, vaguely familiar purple insignia.

            "Okay, not good…what was that, three digivolutions?" T.K. asked.

            "Sounds like a mega, to me," Cody nodded.

            "Looks like we'd better get rolling," Patamon mewed with a hint of despair.  "**Patamon, digivolve to…Angemon!**"

            "**Armadillomon, digivolve to…Ankylomon!**"

            "**Golem, module-evolve to…Moleg!**"

            "**Ankylomon!**"

            "**Angemon!**"

            "**DNA digivolve to…Archaeopteryxmon!**"  Archaeopteryxmon flew up to face this huge bird.  "I don't know what tricks you're pulling, but we'll gladly show you they won't work!" he shouted to this strange, androgynous creature that was neither digimon nor menace machine.

            "In your dreams!" Black Rook answered, spreading its wings apart and revealing a group of cannons inside the courtyard of its keep.  "Spike Cannon!" it shouted.

            "Data siphon!" Archaeopteryxmon answered.  He stretched out his hand, and what looked like a funnel of energy opened in front of it.  The sharp bits of metal that Black Rook was firing at him were sucked in, and Archaeopteryxmon hurled the attack energy right back in Black Rook's face.  "Still think you're so hot?" Archaeopteryxmon asked.

            The Figure commanded, "Black Rook!  Try Faint attack!"

            "Right!"  Black Rook seemed to fade out of existence, and Archaeopteryxmon felt several hard blows on his body.  He staggered to the ground, as his wings were too damaged to help him fly.

            "Archaeopteryxmon!" Cody shouted.

            "You've got to admit that this _doesn't_ look good," T.K. said.

            "And Moleg isn't that much more powerful than Archaeopteryxmon," Cody added.

            "You haven't seen my best attack!" Moleg answered.  "Laser Drill Tornado!"  Moleg hurled a tornado of purple energy out his hand at the Black Rook…but the attack fell on the thick, stone walls that seemed to make up Black Rook's wings, and Black Rook took no damage.

            "There _has_ to be a way to do this!"

            "I'm getting an idea right now!  We have to---?!?!"  Cody looked at his digivice.  A strange, yellow-green glow came from its screen…

            "**Archaeopteryxmon, mega digivolve to…Ironarchaeopteryxmon!**"

            "Wha---?!" T.K. stammered.  "He's…a _mega_, now?"

            "Looks like it," Cody answered.  "Now, _my_ idea was to attack that evil Digidestined, not to mega-digivolve Archaeopteryxmon.  But I _guess_ this'll work, too…"

            Ironarchaeopteryxmon was much bigger than the human-size Archaeopteryxmon.  He was definitely several stories tall, and had six golden wings and a view shield that reminded them of Magnaangemon.  His skin was covered in gleaming metal.

            Ironarchaeopteryxmon flew up to black rook.  "Time you were captured, Black Rook!  Cryo-Gate!"  Ironarchaeopteryxmon waved his weapon arm in a circle the way Magnaangemon did for his Gate of Destiny attack, and a ring of icy energy flew at Black Rook.  Black Rook staggered.  "And now, for the big finish!  Macro Blaster!"  An orange and blue-white stream of energy flew out of his mouth and Black Rook toppled over, exposing is vulnerable insides. Ironarchaeopteryxmon and Moleg fired into the courtyard, and Black Rook was history.  It became a pair of weak and worn-out creatures:  Jaymon and Murkrow.

            "You two are _useless_!" The Figure hissed.  "Get them back," he commanded another pair of digimon.  That pair was a scaly-looking, green creature that looked like Armadillomon's evil clone and Ewemon, Veemon's and Gabumon's evil clone.  They ran out, picked up his fallen monsters, and ran back.  "You'd better watch your back!" he hissed as he made his escape.

            "Do we go after him?" Ironarchaeopteryxmon asked.

            "He could be leading us straight into a trap," T.K. cautioned.

            "And besides, once you go down to Patamon and Armadillomon and Moleg drops his armor, who'll fight if there's a battle?  C'mon; we need to get back to base and tell Cleaver about this!"

            "…Then let's move it," Ironarchaeopteryxmon answered, picking his two human friends and Golem up and carrying them back.

            T.K. took off his hat and rubbed his aching head.  "So many monsters, so many evolutions!  And now, he's DNA-digivolving pokémon and digimon together?"

            "That's what it looked like," Cody answered, shaking his head.

            "I wonder if we could do the same thing?" T.K. thought aloud.  "…But he did that from the _ultimate_ level, so we would need to do that to digimon that are already DNA digivolved…would that work?"

******

            "No, it would never work," Cleaver answered.  T.K. and Cody were back at base, explaining what they had seen while holding a tired-out Patamon and Armadillomon in their arms.

            "But _why_ wouldn't it work?" Cody asked.

            "It's simple:  their subspace matrixes would be too big.  Let me explain:  when two digimon DNA digivolve, their matrixes fuse together.  It's like two cells merging their membranes and all the organelles of those cells mingling.  The two subspace vacuoles that store energy are both used, there are two energy processors, and other stuff like that.  The bottom line with DNA digivolution is that your basic DNA digimon is a little stronger than other ultimates because its matrix is bigger.  But _my_ point is that the subspace matrix grows when you DNA digivolve.  If _three_ digimon were fused together, the subspace matrix would just be too big to hold together.  That's why I don't think it's possible to DNA digivolve a pokémon with Paildramon, or Swampangemon, or other DNA digivolved digimon."

            "Well, back to square one with _that_ idea," Cody muttered.

            "Hey, don't sweat it out yet," Cleaver answered.  "I know that Matt still has his crest."

            "How did he get it?"

            "Time getting torn to pieces not only turned him into a kid, but it gave him back his crest, too.  Maybe Weregarurumon would be able to pull it off…?  But first, I'd have to get a better idea how Co-Op digivolving is done."

            "That means we'd have to get our hands on his D-Gauntlet?" Cody asked.

            "Exactly."

            "Great.  But…how do you think Archaeopteryxmon mega-digivolved?"

            "I don't know, but I wouldn't complain...maybe Azulungmon's vacuole is in him, too..."

******

            "Well?"

            "I got the Co-Op digivolution process to work and field-tested it like you asked.  This form didn't make a kill."

            The sub-major waved his hand in disgust.

            "Hey, don't terminate your science teams yet.  There are still six other forms to test.  And the process _worked_, didn't it?  Even if it didn't go the right way this time, we have a lot more information now than before."

            "Such as…?"

            "They have the ability to make their DNA-digivolved digimon _mega_ digivolve."

            "We were aware of that before."

            "…I wasn't informed of that!"

            The sub major grunted.  "Protocol demands that someone be terminated in the event of a mission failure!"

            "What was my mission, anyway?"

            "Field-test the process!"

            "That was a success!"

            "…I see…I shall have to mandate less lenient mission objectives in the future."

(1)  It's true:  Americans _do_ say the word "like" all the time.  I'm a Yank, myself, so I should know.  Being raised in Minnesota, Tina has been fully indoctrinated into this tradition.

            There's kind of a story behind why her family moved to America.  When Tina was two and a half and still didn't know much Japanese at all (so little that she doesn't remember any of it), Ken had already made a big name for himself as one of Tokyo's best investigators.  He was that huge because he had busted Mr. Oswell, one of the worst crimelords in Tokyo.  Now, Mr. Oswell had a brother, and this brother was kind of Oswell's heir, and took Oswell's office.  He wasn't quite as good as Oswell had been, but he made this startling move:  he tried to kidnap Tina at gunpoint from the Ichichochi's apartment.  A pair of his thugs brought Tina into his limousine, where he was waiting for her.  He happened to have a very decorated, monographed pistol sitting on his lap at the time, and he had it out to impress his wife, who was sitting next to him.

            As the limo drove off, his wife took one look at Tina and said, "Hmm.  Adorable little brat."

            Oswell's brother grinned.  "You know, young lady, I'm a good friend of your father's.  I got to know him through my brother."

            Tina looked up at him with the same big, sunny smile she always has.

            The crimelord chuckled at Tina's naïveté.  "Your father…he's going to have to give himself up and fork over a lot of cash before---"

            His sentence trailed off as he saw Tina grab his ornate gun and aim it straight at his head.  He swallowed hard.

            "Oh, don't be ridiculous, sweetheart," his wife insisted.  "She's just playing around.  There's no way that she knows how to use that thing!"

            "Hey, Ichichochi is smart.  If that rubbed off at all on his kid---"

            "Ohhhhh…" his wife rolled her eyes.  "She's probably not even strong enough to pull the trigger.  I'll get it out of her hands."  She reached over for the gun, and Tina aimed the weapon at her head.  She shrieked and pulled away from Tina.  While the limo was still moving, she opened the door and jumped out.  The driver promptly stopped the car.

            Her husband looked out the door and shouted, "Honey, are you all right?"  Then it occurred to him that he might be next.  He looked back at Tina---and she was gone!  She had slipped out of the limo herself and was lost in a crowd.

            They hadn't gone far from the Ichichochi's home at all, so Tina knew the way back.  Neither of her parents were home, and neither Hawkmon nor Wormmon had seen Tina leave.  But the door wasn't locked, so Tina walked in and, sick of carrying the heavy gun, left the weapon on the kitchen counter.  She forgot about the gun after that, but her horrified parents came home to see the gun on the counter with the word "Oswell" written in small caps on the handle.  They had assumed that the weapon was left there to scare them, and they were definitely scared.  That same night, they were on a plane, bound for America.

            ...All this for a footnote for the word "like"!  Aren't I a concise writer?


	54. Chapter 53: Liftoff

Chapter 53:  Liftoff…

            "Uh-oh!" Tina thought aloud as she realized their conundrum:  Ingrid still had to be vaccinated.  That meant she had to get a booster shot; a thing that Tina dreaded, herself.  She would hate to think what getting a shot would do to a child whose mind and worldview were just developing, like Ingrid's.  The worst guess that Tina could think of was that Ingrid wouldn't trust her anymore.  Tina knew that she would have to be right there with Ingrid for Ingrid to feel the most secure during the shot, and, once Ingrid got the idea of what was going on, Ingrid would struggle for sure.  Tina didn't want to have to be the one to hold her down; Ingrid's trust of her would be broken immediately---not to mention her view of the world as a whole.

            So Tina came up with this plan:  Tina would get a booster shot herself, before Ingrid would get hers.  Throughout the whole operation, Tina would have Ingrid sitting in her lap, with Ingrid watching her get the injection before receiving one herself.  Tina had it in her mind to do this, but she dreaded this idea even more, knowing that there would be two bouts of suffering involved.

            Joe strapped on his sterile, rubber gloves.  "You're _sure_ you want to do things this way?"

            "Not really," Tina admitted, with a fake smile on her face as she looked down at Ingrid.  Tina rolled up her turtleneck's sleeve and waited for the pain of the injection.  She first felt a gauze soaked in cold alcohol rub her arm, which made her feel all the more nervous and made it all the more difficult for her to fake a smile and keep her cool in front of Ingrid.  Yet, somehow she managed---even when the needle went into her arm---to keep a smile on her face and keep Ingrid thinking that everything was okay.  It felt awful to have a needle pierce her skin and pump foreign, cold IV fluid into her bloodstream, and she hated to think how it would seem to poor Ingrid.  A few weeks before this, life had seemed to Ingrid like a nightmare that made her feel like curling up in a ball and hiding from anything that was alive.  To feel pain again---pain as bad as a booster shot---would only incite bad memories and make her feel awful and terrified again.

            Finally, it was over.  The needle was out of Tina's arm, and there was a neon pink bandage covering the spot where the needle had gone in.  Ingrid looked at the bandage, and thought that a brightly colored pink spot like that was one of the coolest-looking things that she had ever seen, and she wanted one of her own.  Ingrid rolled up her own sleeve, the same way Tina had done.  She kept looking up at Tina and smiling, as if to say, "Now _I'm_ going to get one, too!  Fun, huh?  I'm glad we had this little outing!"

            Then, the alcohol came.  Ingrid let out a grunt of disappointment as she felt the coldness of the gauze and the fluid.  She tried to roll her sleeve down, but Tina held the sleeve back.  "No can give booster shot if have sleeve rolled down!" she said to Ingrid.

            Ingrid looked up at Tina as if to say, "What're you keeping my sleeve up for?  That's freezing!"  So, knowing her own skin was warm to the touch, Tina wrapped her arms around Ingrid and held her tightly.  (This wasn't just to make up for the cold; it was so that Tina would have an excuse for restraining her when Joe would give her the shot.)

            "This'll keep Ingrid warm," Tina said.

            "Warm?" Ingrid asked.

            "Warm," Tina reassured her.  After a few minutes, the coldness of the alcohol was only a bad memory…and a memory that Ingrid forgot.  All she could think about was that bright pink spot that she'd get for having a booster shot.  She didn't, of course, see the pain coming.  She didn't think that getting a needle stuck in her arm would have any pain involved; Tina never argued when it happened to her!  So Ingrid let out a loud, surprised scream when she felt the needle go into her arm.  Tina held on to Ingrid even tighter than before; keeping her from wiggling and hurting herself even more.  Then the needle came out, and Ingrid's scream changed into sobs.  The scream started up again when Joe came towards her with a spot bandage.  "Joe, I think you'd better let _me_ put on the bandage.  I think she's scared of you, now."

            "Okay, but get it on her fast."

            "I will."  Tina wrapped Ingrid in her blanket and carried her away.  "It's okay, honey…you'll be fine…"  Tina carried Ingrid back to the orphanage, and she cried the entire way there.  Tina set Ingrid down next to Natasha, where she usually sat.  But Ingrid didn't stop crying, even after she got the coveted pink spot bandage on her arm.  It took a lot of lullaby-ing and holding Ingrid to get her to stop crying.  But she still had an unsure look on her face and looked up at Tina, looking for reassurance.  Tina tried to smile down at her, but she couldn't.  Somehow, she managed to smile through a needle in her own arm, and yet she couldn't smile after watching someone else, so young and frail, get a shot.  She hugged Ingrid and tried to make her as comfortable as possible.

            "So…I take it, she got the vaccination?" Natasha asked.

            Tina sadly nodded and rubbed Ingrid's shoulder.  "I think that I'll be camping out with Ingrid for the next little while.  She feels more secure with me next to her, so I think I should stay with her until she gets over this emotionally."

            Natasha took the hint.  "I'll let Brock know, and he'll pass word to your mom."  Natasha explained the situation to Brock, and, instead of going out to explain the situation to Yolei, he came towards her.

            "What happened to her?" Brock asked with a flush face.

            "She lost _all_ her memory.  She doesn't know how to speak, and she barely knows how to walk."

            "Ouch."

            "Yeah…so how do you treat a child who can't speak your language?"

            Brock sighed.  "I don't know…I don't _actually_ have training; I just have experience."

            "Oh…but could you let my mom know that I'll be sleeping here tonight?"

            "Sure, I'll do that."  Brock's face flushed again.  "Do you need me to join you and help watch her?"

            "No, thanks."

            Ingrid was delighted to find that Tina was going to be sleeping in the orphanage.  Tina let Ingrid sit on her lap as she played Super Mario World, and, again, it delighted her to see those bright colors and characters running around the screen.  Tina kept away from some of the darker-colored levels, like the underground and the ghost houses, because those levels and their music could get creepy.

            Again, Tina spoon-fed Ingrid and tried to put her to bed.  But Ingrid didn't want to sleep; she wanted to be awake for every moment that she was with Tina.  (Put _that_ way, Tina would've been flattered, but Tina was actually annoyed.)  Tina let out a disgusted sigh.  There was a way to get her to sleep:  Tina unzipped her own sleeping bag and crawled in.  She beckoned Ingrid close and said her prayers out loud in front of her.  Then she looked up and said, "Good night."  Tina then shut her eyes and half-pretended and half-tried to get to sleep.

            Ingrid wasn't so easily defeated:  she began punching the sleeping bag at random places to try to wake Tina up.  Tina looked at her.

            "Man, she won't take 'no' for an answer, will she?" Tina asked, looking at Natasha.

            "That's what happens when you don't punish your child."

            "So…what am I supposed to _do_?  She just got a shot, isn't that enough suffering for one day?"

            "Well…you wouldn't actually need to _punish_ her, you'd just need to show that you mean business."

            "Hmm…"  Tina sat up, took Ingrid by the shoulders, and forced Ingrid down and aside into her bed.  Ingrid wasn't happy to be put to bed, but Tina held her down.  Ingrid looked up at her with a very sad look on her face, so Tina sighed, kissed her face (as if to say, "this doesn't mean I don't still love you"), and kept holding her down.

            Ingrid finally accepted defeat and slept.

            Tina sighed and rested her head back down on her pillow.  She was just beginning to get to sleep when her mother barged in.  "Tina, you can't do this!"

            Tina groaned.  "Not so loud!  I don't want her to wake up again!"

            "Honey, we need you for Operation Caravan!"

            "…Oh, right," Tina answered with an embarrassed blush.

            Yolei put her hands on her hips.  "You forgot, didn't you?"

            "Yeah, I did…"

            "So you didn't get extra sleep so that you'd be able to come along?"

            "No, I didn't."

            Yolei let out a disappointed sigh.  "Tina, _what_ am I going to do with you?"

            Tina sighed.  "…When does it leave?"

            "In about twenty minutes!"

            "…Oh, great!" Tina sighed and thought for a moment.  "Hey…wait a minute!  I just got an idea:  what do you need me for with Operation Caravan?"

            "You're supposed to have Joey find the---"

            "And would me getting out of Imperialdramon's force field be necessary for that until we get to Minnesota?"

            "…I guess not, but---"

            "So that means that I can sleep during the trip!"

            Yolei felt defeated somehow.  "Okay, fine…!  Get your sleeping bag in gear and be at the front door in ten minutes!"

            Tina was surprised to find that Rika would be coming along on the trip.  "I thought you didn't like to be out-and-about!" Tina asked, looking at her.

            "And I thought you were supposed to be in the orphanage.  But this sure is a day for being wrong, isn't it?"

            Tina rolled her eyes.  "Let's just get moving, okay?"

            "Okay."  Looking at the sleeping bag over Tina's shoulder, Rika asked, "I thought this was a trade mission, not some kind of slumber party."

            "I'm just…catching up on sleep, that's all."

            "_Psh_!  Good luck."

            "Say, where is Imperialdramon, anyways?"

            "To answer your question, I don't think that---"

            "**Veemon, digivolve to…Exveemon!**"

            "**Wormmon, digivolve to…Stingmon!**"

            "**Exveemon!**"

            "**Stingmon!**"

            "**DNA digivolve to…Paildramon!**"

            "**Paildramon, mega-digivolve to…Imperialdramon!**"

            "---that Veemon and Wormmon have digivolved, yet," Rika finished, somewhat after-the-fact.

            Tina blinked.  "Well…that sure answers my question!"

            "Let's get on, already!"

******

            Blackwargreymon sneered.  "You dare to challenge _me_?!"

            "You don't _really_ know what you're up against, do you?" The Figure asked.

            "Frankly, I don't care:  I know that you won't be able to defeat an experienced mega digimon with such a new creature as Black Rook!"

            "That's why I'm not using Black Rook.  Pangolimon?"

            A scaly digimon stepped forward.  "Shall we do our thing?" it hissed.

            "**Digi-modify!****  Digivolution, activate!**"

            "**Pangolimon, digivolve to…Glyptodomon!**"  Glyptodomon looked like Ankylomon, but he was a little bit smaller, he had a greenish tint to his scales, and had a hammer on his tail instead of a mace.

            "Ha!  Terra Destroyer!"  Blackwargreymon hurled a ball of red flame at Glyptodomon, hoping to destroy him before any real threat happened.

            Glyptodomon had a strange answer:  "Tail Slicer!"  It slashed its tail through the air, and it left a white streak as it flew.  That white streak must've been a force field, because it absorbed the fireball.  The attack easily destroyed the force field, but Glyptodomon didn't take any damage.

            "I'll admit that was impressive," Blackwargreymon answered.  "But you _still_ won't defeat me!"

            "Careful, Blackwargreymon!" Henry cautioned.  "This guy can be tough, from what I've heard!"

            "Others will hear new things about him soon after this battle!"

            "No kidding," The Figure sneered.  "**Digi-modify!****  Counter-crest digivolution, activate!**"

            "**Glyptodomon, digivolve to…Diplodomon!**"  Diplodomon was a scaly, huge dinosaur with a long neck and a huge tail.

            "HA!!  Black Tornado!"

            "Blackwargreymon, _no_!" Takato hissed.

            "Solidifying Blaster!" Diplodomon shouted as a burst of blue-white energy flew from his mouth.  The sub-zero blast froze Blackwargreymon in a block of ice, and he plummeted into the ground.

            "This doesn't look good…which one of us takes this guy?" Henry asked.

            "You know how tough this guy can be; his digimon are genetically engineered by some alien civilization!  I think we _both_ go for it!"

            "…This is a big risk…"

            "I don't see what choice we have.  **Digi-modify!  Digivolution, activate!**"

            "**Guilmon, digivolve to…Growlmon!**"

            "**Digi-modify!****  Digivolution, activate!**"

            "**Terriermon, digivolve to…Gargomon!**"

            "Pyroblaster!"

            "Gargo Laser!"  The two attacks flew at Diplodomon, and Diplodomon's long neck was knocked backwards.

            "Growlmon, thaw out Blackwargreymon while I handle this guy!" Gargomon shouted.

            "Right!"  Growlmon ran towards Blackwargreymon.

            "Don't let him go there, Jaymon!  **Digi-modify!  Digivolution, activate!**"

            "**Jaymon, digivolve to…Nekhbetmon!**"

            "Pyroblaster!" Growlmon fired at Nekhbetmon.

            "Meteor Blast!" it answered, letting a stream of white flame spew out its mouth to cancel Growlmon's attack.

            "Fine then!  Dragon claw!"  Growlmon threw a white blade of energy up at Nekhbetmon.

            "Grand blast!"  The tips of its two horns glowed, and it fired a pair of orange beams at the blade and erased it.

            "This just isn't working!" Takato shouted.  "**Digi-modify!****  Hypersonic, activate!**"

            Growlmon dashed around Nekhbetmon and began blowing flame at the frozen Blackwargreymon.

            "Fine then!" The Figure answered.  "**Digi-modify!****  Firepower, activate!**"

            It seemed as though both of his digimon had reaped the benefits of the mod-card:  they both fired at the tamers' digimon.  Neither shot landed a hit, but both made pretty big explosions.

            "This isn't good!" Henry thought aloud.  "Looks like a matrix digivolution is called for!"  He put his entire deck in his hand and stared at the cards.  He felt a strange tingle in his thumb as one of the cards changed into a blue card.  "_Finally_!!  For once, it wasn't a _flaky_ change… **Digi-modify!  Matrix Digivolution, activate!**"

            "**Gargomon, digivolve to…Metalgargomon!**"  Metalgargomon aimed his weapon arms at Nekhbetmon.  "Sharp Rockets!"  A pair of guided missiles flew at Nekhbetmon.  Neither landed a hit as Nekhbetmon fired a pair of beams at them, but Nekhbetmon was distracted long enough for Growlmon to finish thawing Blackwargreymon.

            "Time to get in some revenge!" Blackwargreymon snarled.

            "This time, let's be careful!"

            "…_Fine_!  We'll try it your way!  But what _exactly_ is careful?  To get out of here now, or destroy some of these digimon and make sure they don't attack us again?"

            "Good question…but there's one idea I have!"


	55. Chapter 54: Workman's Comp

Chapter 54:  Workman's Comp

            Renamon began to get the impression that this was _not_ going to be a good trip:  both Hare and Tiger were assigned to accompany this outing, along with herself.  And Tina, their nosy roommate, was also in the party, so Rika wasn't too happy, either.  Rika was even less happy to see that Tina would be sleeping through most of the trip:  "Oh, right!  You go ahead and sleep all cozy in your little sleeping bag, while we do all the work!" she spat.  Rika couldn't tell whether Tina had heard her or not, but Tina didn't answer and kept her eyes shut.

            Rika sighed as Imperialdramon headed inland.  She sincerely hoped that she wouldn't have to handle the fish that were in the boxcars that dangled from Imperialdramon's body.

            They landed out in the country, and they found out that the people who lived there wouldn't be able to keep the fish for very long:  there was no electricity, and that meant that their refrigerators wouldn't work.  If there was no refrigeration, the people wouldn't be able to keep the meat fresh.  All they could trade for was a few bushels of rice, which were a lot less than they expected.  So that didn't go too well.

            "Boy, _this_ is turning out to be a successful trip!" Davis spat.

            "And it's only just starting!" Rika added.

            "Hey!  Quit being pessimistic!  We've been through all that already!" Tibemon yelled.

            The next stop was Hawaii.  Unfortunately, Imperialdramon wasn't able to go at his top speed; if he hit warp speed, chances are the cables that held the boxcars would break.  So he had to plod along at 600 miles per hour, not even as fast as sound.  It took hours to get to Hawaii, but there was some good news:  at the altitude that Imperialdramon was flying, the air was so cold that it refrigerated the fish for them.

            They landed at a fruit plantation, hoping that there would be someone there.  The trees were loaded down with bananas, but they looked untended.

            "You think this place is abandoned?" Ken asked.

            "Good question," Davis agreed.  "Let's try the foreman's house."

            They found the foreman, all right.  He had a very stocky build, was both fat and strong, and he looked like the kind of person you'd expect to wrestle alligators.  He was more than willing to trade fruit for meat, but there was a problem:  he didn't have any workers.  "This is what happens when labor is so hard to find!  The only workers I've found are too sickly to work!  They try to work, though, and the moment they get sick, they scream 'workman's comp!' and end up freeloading off of me!  I've had to send my _sons _and _nephews _out to pick enough food for us to live!  It's just a good thing that they suddenly became 18 when, before, they were all less than ten years old!"

            "…So you're saying we should pick another plantation to trade with?"

            "_No!_  I mean…well, if you guys were willing to...uh, help pick---?"

            "Uh…"  Davis was hesitant to answer.

            Just then, they heard the scream of angry saberstrikes attacking.

            "They're attacking a _mega_ digimon?!" Imperialdramon asked aloud.  "_Man_!  That's a new low for stupidity, even for _them_!  Ultra Cannon!"

            "Imperialdramon, stop!" Ken yelled.  "I have an idea!"  He pulled his whip from his belt.  "Time to field-test these changes Cleaver made!"  He swiped it several times in the saberstrikes' direction, and a few black shapes flew at them.  Rika, Tina, and Davis suddenly realized what Ken was doing:  he was using manipulation rings on the saberstrikes.  And it seemed to be working:  the saberstrikes stopped in their tracks and started attacking the ones that hadn't been taken by the rings.  "_Yes_!  It worked!"

            "Whoa, Ken…!  You're reviving your old Digimon Emperor technology?"

            "It's that technology that got us into this mess…and maybe it'll help get us out, too!  …And speaking of cheap labor…"

******

            There were three things about this job that Rika really didn't like:  first, the fact that there was dried blood on the saberstrikes' claws, and, second, the fact that _she _was the one who was supposed to sterilize that blood off of them.  (She knew _why_ she had to sterilize the blood off:  it was so that the saberstrikes would be able to cut the bananas off the trees in a _sanitary_ way.)  But the third thing that she didn't like was that Imperialdramon was going to be leaving.  "So…we just wait for him to come back and pick us up?" she asked Ken.

            "That's the plan."

            "What if he doesn't come back?"

            "He will."

            "But you know how time is messed up!  It could be _years_ before he comes back for us!" she insisted as she scrubbed bleach onto the claws of one of the saberstrikes.

            "I know, but he'll hurry back.  And we'll be able to survive even if it _is_ years."

            "_Huh_!  If you _say_ so…"

            It took a while, but eventually all the saberstrikes were clean and whacking away at the full banana trees.  While they were attacking the trees, the weather did the strangest thing yet:  a downpour would start and stop intermittently, but the time between starts and stops would be anywhere between a few seconds and a few hours.

            Rika sat under the overhang of the foreman's house's porch, watching the saberstrikes soak and chop away at banana trees with their huge, two-fingered claws.  It wasn't the most entertaining thing to do.  Watching the saberstrikes became even less entertaining when the foreman sat down next to her and began telling her how wonderful it was that there were robots working his fields instead of people.  "Let me tell you, this beats having people yell at you about workman's compensation and minimum wages!  Not to mention health and human rights!"

            "Hmph."

            "Let me tell you, we'd make several hundred thousand a year off this here plantation!  The company would give me such huge bonuses and commissions for the work we did!  _Several _ _hundred thousand!_  Now, let me tell you, living your life as a foreman is a great way to make a living!  Beats getting an education and working your back off from nine to five!"

            "Hmph."

            "It's only good if the workers are cooperative.  Let me tell you about a labor strike they had once back in twenty-two.  You were about five or six then, so you might not remember what the economy was doing to us.  But imagine the audacity of asking for a pay raise when there was a recession!"

            "Hmph."

            "The company was thinking about shutting this plantation down!  That would've had me out of a job _so_ fast, I would've had to sell my house!  So I had to give in.  I gave them the pay raise they were holding out for.  They just couldn't go without that extra _one_-dollar-a-week, could they?  That killed my bonus for that year, and I was planning to have a swimming pool put into my house!"

            "Hmph……huh?  Isn't that a swimming pool over there?" Rika asked, gesturing to their left.

            "Well, yes, but it's not indoors.  I could get sunburned out there if I'm not careful!"

            "Don't your workers get sunburned?"

            "Well, they do, but they're just _workers_.  Of course, these metal things won't complain about being sunburned, now will they?"

            "…I don't think that they will, no."

            "Not in this weather."  The foreman laughed, lighting up a cigarette (to Rika's chagrin).  "That's what I like about technology.  Always making life easier for people."

            "This isn't man-made technology, actually."

            "Really?"

            "It was made by creatures from another world who want to destroy humanity and take over the world."

            "…That kind of technology doesn't strike me as the kind that would pick bananas."

            "They wouldn't if a few of us hadn't come up with a way to control their core programs and make them do what we want."

            "…Oh, well that's all right, then."

            "It's a lot more comforting to know that they're cutting plants instead of digimon or people."

            "Amen.  I've heard that those annoying things are cutting the population of unskilled laborers in the cities!  The only place to survive is out in the country."

            " 'Annoying' isn't the word _I_ would use…"  Rika was interrupted as the war cry of several gorillouts sounded.  " 'Dangerous' is more like it!"  She pressed a few buttons on her digivice, and Renamon appeared in a flash.  Renamon tossed Rika a rain poncho on her way out the door.  "**Digi-modify:  digivolution, activate!**"

            "**Renamon, digivolve to…Rufusmon!**"

            Ken, Hare, and Tiger jumped out of the house, too.  Ken tossed Davis's two digi-eggs at Hare and Tiger.

            "**Hare, module-evolve to…Firabbit!**"

            "**Tiger, module-evolve to…Thunderdog!**"

            "I wish Cleaver had figured out an evolution algorithm for these things!" Ken muttered. "Saberstrikes! I am your master! Do as I command: stop working on the banana plants and start counterattacking the gorillouts!" The saberstrikes were stupider and not as powerful as the gorillouts, so they didn't fare well.

            Thunderdog raced to Rufusmon's side.  "So…do you like my form?"

            "Uh…its electric attacks are working better than my fire attacks in this weather…"

            Tiger hoped that was a complement.

            "**Digi-modify!****  Armor, activate!**"

            Rufusmon tried smacking the gorillouts with her tail, but the attacks just weren't working.  The gorillouts were more on the offensive than on the defensive with Rufusmon; they kept firing their YoNon Gazrii attacks at her.

            Firabbit and Thunderdog kept having to save her neck, which made all of them feel all the more strange in this fight.  Every time Firabbit saved her, Thunderdog became jealous.  Every time Thunderdog saved her, Firabbit was jealous.  It was a vicious cycle.

            Rika thought aloud to herself, "This just isn't coming off!  If only I could Matrix digivolve…now, how did Takato say it happened?"  She held up a card and stared at it.  "Come on!  Change into a blue card!"  The card didn't do anything except get wet in the rain.  She snarled in disgust…only to find that her speed card in her other hand had become a blue card.  She swiped it through her D-Arc.  "**Digi-modify!****  Matrix Digivolution, activate!**"

            "**Rufusmon, digivolve to…Cyberrufusmon!**"  Cyberrufusmon looked a lot like Taomon, but she had a somewhat more robotic look, and had a satellite dish where the yin-yang had been on Taomon's chest.

            This shocked both Firabbit and Thunderdog.  They stood there, gawking at her for a second.  Unfortunately, a second was all the gorillouts needed:  "YoNon Gazrii!"   …And they both regressed back to Hare and Tiger, and landed in the wet muck of the plantation.

            "Oh, yes…very impressive," Cyberrufusmon mused.

            "Let's get this battle over-with fast, Rufusmon!" Rika suggested.  "We'll need to work quick to make sure that someone will be able to fight if we get another attack, and it'll be a while before Hare and Tiger recover from those hits!  **Digi-modify!  Upgrade, activate!**"

            Cyberrufusmon's firepower increased.  The dish on her chest glowed a hot white.  "Displacement wave!" she shouted.  A wave of space distortion flew out from the dish and knocked the gorillouts backwards.  She raised her long-sleeved arms up.  "Laser UZI!" she shouted, and a hailstorm of sparks flew out and destroyed the gorillouts.  Cyberrufusmon flew over to Hare and Tiger and began to carry them indoors.  "So…how are you feeling?"

            "Oh, don't mind me!  That wasn't so---" "Those things aren't so tough if you---" "I think that was the easiest fight ever!  Why did I ever module-evolve if---" "Don't worry about me, I'm okay---"

            "I see…" Cyberrufusmon answered.  "You two look like you could use a shower…one with soap, I mean; not like the one you're getting now."

            "We'll do that," they both said at once.

            Cyberrufusmon shook her head with disgust.


	56. Chapter 55: So Close, Yet So Far Away, Y...

Chapter 55:  So Close, Yet So Far Away, Yet _Exactly_ There Now!

            "Tina…?"  Davis gently shook Tina shoulders.

            "Nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnngh…?"

            "Tina, we're there!  We're at your house!"

            Tina opened one eye.  "We're there?"

            "We're there."

            Tina stretched.  "Ahhhhhhhhhh…!  There's no place like home, is there?"

            "I wouldn't know:  this isn't _my_ home.  But we need to make this quick:  just go inside and get the datacube."

            "Okay."  She hopped out of bed and pulled her boots back on.  "After flying so long, it'll take a minute to get my land legs back!"

            "I know the feeling," Youngdramon agreed.  "And I have four of them I need to get back!  You only have two!"

            "Don't I feel special!?"

            Tina crept into the house.  She yelled, "Lucy, I'm hooo-ooome!"  There was no answer; there was nobody else in the house.  "Man, this place is creepy…but it's home, at last."

            "So…where did you stash this little bauble of information?" Youngdramon asked.

            "In my room, I'd think."

            "You'd…_think_?"

            "Hey, it's not like I keep an organized list of every little thing I find!  But I know where one thing is…"  Tina raced up the stairs and into her room.  She fished around in her sock drawer, and her hands closed around a small, round object:  her Olympic medal.  "This is why I'm glad I came here," Tina thought aloud.

            "One question:  when _exactly_ were you in the Olympics?" Youngdramon asked.  "I know it was before we met."

            "Just a few months ago.  Didn't I tell you?  Like, the _second_ we got back from the Olympics, this whole things started."

            "Wow.  You got that for…?"

            "Lap swimming.  I almost got killed getting it, too.  I told you about that, didn't I?"

            "Yeah, you did.  You swam so fast, you hit your head on the wall and got a concussion."

            "Scared my mom half to death, too."

Youngdramon chuckled. "Knowing her, I bet she was scared half to death!"

"Now…where did I leave that datacube…?"

            Tina spent a few minutes looking around for it.  Then, she saw Imperialdramon's eye come to the level of her bedroom window.  "Hey, Tina, we don't exactly have all day, you know!"

            "I'm still looking!  I'm still looking!" Tina insisted.  She had tried every drawer and shelf in her room, and not one of them had the datacube.  So she tried the garbage cans and the laundry for the cube, and neither of those places had the cube in them.

            Tina felt defeated.  She collapsed on a chair and tried to think what she'd done with the cube once she'd gotten it from Joey.  She'd put it in her raincoat pocket, but after that…_She had never taken it out!_  Tina untied her coat from her waist and fished around in the pockets.  She didn't find the cube.  Then it occurred to her what had happened:  she'd put her raincoat through the laundry at the nuke plant in Japan, so the launderers there must've found the cube and put it in the lost-and-found.  That's where the cube was, and the only thing gained from this trip to Minnesota was the medal she'd recovered.  Oh, well…

            While she was there, she picked up a few belongings she'd wanted to take with her and the odd computer game or two.  She came back out wondering how she'd explain the situation to Davis…

            "Where's the cube?"

            "It's not in there.  I bet I know where it _is_, though."

            "Tell us _where_, already!"

            "In the lost-and-found at the nuke plant."

            Davis rolled his eyes.  "You mean to tell me we came all this way for nothing?  …And what's all that stuff you have?"

            "Just…_stuff_…"

            Davis fumed.  "Just get back in Imperialdramon.  We're going to pick up Pixie and Gary in Montana, and then we'll get Ken."

******

            "**Digi-modify!****  Upgrade, activate!**"  MetalGargomon's firepower increased, and he fired another pair of missiles at Diplodomon.

            "Solidifying Blaster!"  Diplodomon blew both missiles out of the air.

            "I've had enough of your antics!" The Unnamed Figure sneered.  He set a pokéball in his D-Gauntlet.  "**Digi-modify!****  Co-Op digivolution, activate!**"

            "**Diplodomon, Co-Op digivolve to…Lava-iathan!**"  Lava-iathan looked like a huge lizard whose skin was made of glowing, red magma.  "Time to show you who is _really_ the best, and to put a timely end to Blackwargreymon's big mouth!  Lava-iathan, use Fire Spin!"  A tornado of fire spewed out Lava-iathan's mouth at Blackwargreymon.

            "Black tornado!"  Blackwargreymon added the flames to his own attack, and threw the red and black mess of energy back at Lava-iathan.

            "You're certainly persistent!" The Unnamed Figure taunted.  "There's a better way to do this, Lava-iathan…Crunch attack!"  Lava-iathan jumped up and bit down on Blackwargreymon's arm.  Blackwargreymon slid off his clawed gauntlet so that Lava-iathan wouldn't bite his arm off, and Lava-iathan crunched the armor to pieces.  It spat the smoldering remains of the weapon back out at Blackwargreymon.

            "For that, you'll pay _dearly_!  Terra destroyer!"  Lava-iathan was knocked backwards.

            "Takato, I don't think he's _ever_ going to stop!" Henry yelled.  "And I think he'll take help from us as an insult!"

            "My D-Arc won't identify this guy!  …Then let's take care of the other one!  **Digi-modify!  Hyper wings, activate!**"

            Growlmon flew up to dogfight with Nekhbetmon.  "Pyroblaster!"  Nekhbetmon dodged under.

            "Grand blast!"  Nekhbetmon fired a pair of beams back at Growlmon, both of which narrowly missed.

            "Dragon claw!"  Growlmon hurled a white blade of energy at Nekhbetmon, which finally landed a hit.

            "I'm getting sick of you two!" The Unnamed Figure muttered.  "**Digi-modify!****  Recovery, activate!**"  This time, only Nekhbetmon reaped the results of that modification.  "What…?!"  Lava-iathan was still injured from Blackwargreymon's revenge-crazed onslaught.

            "He can't digi-modify once his digimon are co-op digivolved!" Henry yelled.

            "Good to know there's _something_ working in our favor!  Hang in there, Growlmon!" Takato yelled.

            "Pyroblaster!" Growlmon howled, firing another blast of flame at Nekhbetmon.  Nekhbetmon was knocked backwards.  "Dragon claw!"  Nekhbetmon fell to the ground, but it still didn't regress back to Jaymon.  Growlmon repeatedly whacked away at it until it did.

            "Huh!  Making him go down shouldn't have taken _that_ much punishment…!" Takato thought out loud.

            "That's not what we should be worried about, Takato!" Henry insisted.  "Metalgargomon, I don't care what Blackwargreymon thinks!  Help him out with Lava-iathan!"

            "Sharp Rockets!" Metalgargomon shouted.  Blackwargreymon shot down the two missiles.

            "This is _my_ fight!" he insisted.  "You keep out of this!"

            "Blackwargreymon, there's more important things than your demented idea of honor!"

            "I'll have him finished before you can say---"

            "Hyper beam!" Lava-iathan interrupted.  He shot Blackwargreymon out of the air with a blast of yellow light.

            "So much for your fight," Henry thought to himself.  "Metalgargomon, you know what to do!"

            "That I do, Henry!  Cryo Rockets!"  He fired a pair of blue missiles at Lava-iathan, both of which froze on contact.  It didn't do as much damage to Lava-iathan as Henry had hoped…

            "HA!!" The Figure laughed.  "You don't really understand the science behind this, do you?"

            "I guess I don't," Henry admitted.

            Takato looked at the deck in his left hand.  "I wonder which one will become a blue card, _this_ time…  Hey, what's the deal!  All I have to do is need a blue card to get one…?!"  He fingered through the deck with his other hand, and one of the cards became a blue card.  "Huh…?  …_Hey_!!  Ugly guy with the cloak!  I'm starting to get an idea for what this 'science' is all about!  **Digi-modify!  Matrix digivolution, activate!**"

            "**Growlmon, digivolve to…Wargrowlmon!**"  Wargrowlmon flew up towards Lava-iathan.  "C'mon, Metalgargomon!  Let's finish this guy together!  Atomic Blaster!"

            "Sharp rockets!"

            Lava-iathan staggered.

            The Figure shouted, "**Digi-modify!  Recovery, activate!  **…**Recovery_, ACTIVATE!!!_**"  He paused and then fumed with anger.  "Useless researchers!  They never tell me about this!"

            "So much for _you_ having a grip on 'the science', huh?" Takato taunted.

            Wargrowlmon and Metalgargomon repeatedly fired at Lava-iathan.  Sweating out of fear, The Unnamed Figure pressed a few buttons on his D-Gauntlet.  Just as Lava-iathan was staggering to the ground and regressing to Pangolimon and Houndoom, a quintet of superslagsters and a black box appeared and fused into Catamarine.

            "Takato, I think we should get out of here!" Henry shouted.

            "You think Wargrowlmon and Metalgargomon won't be able to take this guy?"

            "Oh, they'll be able to take him, but I don't think that we should gamble that they'll be able to take us back to the plant once they're through with him!"

            "…Okay, then!  Wargrowlmon!  Pick up Blackwargreymon and let's beat it!"

            As they flew back to base on Wargrowlmon's back, Henry asked Takato, "What did you mean when you said you got a handle on 'the science'?  What did you find out?"

            "I found out that we need to hold our cards in our _right_ hands when we want them to change into blue cards.  I don't know why, but it won't work with the left hand."

            "…Well, that answers a few questions.  We'll have to have Cleaver look into that."


	57. Chapter 56: Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch...

Chapter 56:  Meanwhile, Back At The Ranch (Literally)

            "Well, there's one thing we can try and hope it gives us some answers," Cleaver sighed.

            "What's that?"

            "We could scan your entire bodies and hope that we can get a subspace resolution scan."

            "But…we're just human beings; we shouldn't have subspace matrixes!"

            "I'm a human being, and _I_ have a subspace matrix!" Cleaver insisted.

            "Well…okay…" Takato climbed into the scanner, and hoped no pain was involved in the scan.

            "The point is, the Digidestined from this world have subspace matrixes that allow them to use the digivices.  And it lets them use the crest program."

            "Crest _program_, huh?"

            "It was a perpetual-loop program that was activated by their specific emotions and virtues.  We integrated those emotions into the program deeply so that it was nearly impossible to copy."

            "I don't know if that worked…I mean, that evil Digidestined was using counter-crest cards."

            "Counter-crest?  You mean, those enemy researchers copied the crest program?"

            "Yeah.  And they're evil; they're working with the power of the anti-crest!" (1)

            Cleaver snickered.  "You should write that stuff down.  That's a good one."

            "Huh…?  …" Takato chuckled as he realized what Cleaver was talking about.  "I didn't even realize that I said that!  …So, what's your scanner say?"

            "Basically, you have a subspace matrix, but one that only lets you do one thing:  change your paper cards into blue cards.  From the looks of things, you could turn _any_ piece of paper into a blue card, because cellulose in needed for the transformation.  Theoretically, you could change a cotton ball into a blue card, assuming it was real cotton."

            "What…?"

            "Let's just say that cotton and paper have a lot of the same stuff in them.  Anyway, like you said, your matrix only lets you change cards if they're in your right hand."

            "So do we know anything new?"

            "Not much, no.  But if you could make a card transform, we could scan that, and it would give us some idea what happens with the blue cards."

            "Well…okay, I'll try it."  Takato held up a card in his right hand.  Nothing happened.  "Huh…I guess it's because I don't need a digivolution, right now…"

            Cleaver looked at the readout of Takato's matrix.  "You say you could change the cards in the heat of battle?"

            "Yeah, I could…"

            "Then this might explain it:  there are points in your body where your blood leaves normal space and enters subspace.  It isn't a big drain form your bloodstream; in fact, it's so small that it's just enough to let your matrix pick up chemical transmitters…I wonder…"

            "What's your idea?"

            "We need to get your adrenaline level up."

            After a few hours, there was a treadmill set up in Cleaver's lab, and Takato was on it, running like there was no tomorrow.  "All right…I'm pumped…c'mon, card…do your thing!" he shouted, holding up his hypersonic card.  The card changed into a blue card, and Cleaver snatched it out of Takato's hands.  He plopped it in his scanner, and ran it over the card.

            "Got it!" Cleaver yelled.  His mouth dropped open as he looked at the intricate matrix.  "Whoa…this is as complex as the crest program, if not _more_…!"

            Panting, Takato asked, "But you got the matrix in your computer?"

            "Yes, I do.  But for me to decode this…that'll take a while.  I can't even _guess_ how long it'll take!"

******

            Renamon lay curled up in front of the fire, drying out from her fight as Cyberrufusmon.  She could hear Hare and Tiger scrubbing muck off their fur in the bathroom, but what scared her was the silence that hung over the bathroom.  She knew that both of those two Monsters were in love with her and jealous for her, and she was scared of what would happen if there would be a fight between them over her. But, then again, considering the battle that had just taken place, there wasn't a very big chance that Hare and Tiger would be able to fight each other (or anyone else) any time soon.  Renamon hoped that no fights whatsoever would happen any time soon, and she kept drying out in front of the fire.

            Rika was still outside, and still listening to the foreman's speech about labor, and how great it was to finally have robots doing the work (not to mention getting second-hand smoke and second-hand alcohol into her lungs).  "I tell you, I'm surprised technology hasn't come far enough to make robots for work!  I mean, you're Japanese, right?  I've heard that Japan is working on all kinds of robots to do work, and you'd have that project _done_ by now if it wasn't for the recession back in 2022!"

            "Hmph."  (That "Hmph" translated to:  "I resent the fact that you're being so stereotypical by classifying me with the rest of my ethnic group.")

            "Anyhow, I think these people-from-another-world who are trying to take over Earth wouldn't _really_ need to kill people…or digimon, for that matter…to pull it off.  I mean, if I had the patent on these things, I sure wouldn't need to kill anybody to get a little control in the economy!"

            "Hmph."  (That "Hmph" translated to:  "I don't care what you could do with economics.  All I care about is my job:  I have some important grumping and grouching to do!")

            "Don't get me wrong.  I would only be able to command the labor field---which…is…actually the backbone of society, come to think of it.  Now, _one_ worker is nothing.  A whole bunch of them is something, and absolutely _all_ of them is a huge thing.  Come to think of it, if I had control over the _whole_ labor field, that would mean something, all right!"

            "Hmph."  (That "Hmph" translated to:  "Do your ambitions in life also include cutting down the whole rain forest and kidnapping the Pope for ransom?")

            "Oh, well…play the hand you're dealt, I guess…and then, there was the time I……"  Rika leaned backwards in her chair and shut her eyes.  _The thought that we could be waiting here for  **years** for Imperialdramon to come back is scarier than getting eaten by a saberstrike,_ she thought to herself.

******

            "So, you think you can take me on?" Gary asked the saberstrikes that were approaching him.  "Fine then!  I'll just use the giant pokémon I just caught!  …Although it would be nicer if I knew their names…"  Gary pulled out the two catamarines that he'd caught out from his pocket.  He kissed both pokéballs and threw them.

            The two catamarines came out.  "**Urbo-tor-thera****, noh unukreshnaiona djom…**"

            "**Urbo-tor-prie****!**"

            "**Urbo-tor-andib****!**"  The catamarines disassembled into a pair of black boxes and ten superslagsters.

            A bead of sweat trickled down Gary's neck as he realized that he wasn't controlling what the catamarines were doing, and they had just joined the saberstrikes in attacking him.

            "N-Nidoking!  Arcanine!  Gyarados!  I choose you!"  He let out his three best pokémon.  "U-Use Hyper beam and Fire blast on them!"  He picked off several, but they didn't stop attacking.  Before long, they had forced Gary to call his pokémon back, and they were attacking his car, and had his cheerleading squad on the run.  Gary's feelings of self-worth plummeted as his emotional lifeline scurried away in three directions.  He gripped his remaining pokéballs.  "Exeggutor!  Jolteon!  Rhydon!  Fearow!  Go!"  His four pokémon fought off the saberstrikes and superslagsters, and the black boxes weren't a big threat because they were for attacking buildings, not people.  So Gary was safe…though car-less.

            He called his pokémon back and sighed.  "Oh, well…I don't have any place to go!  I'm not in a hurry!  What do I need a car for?"

And at that moment, thunder rolled, answering Gary's question...

(1) This is why I called them "counter-crests": so that I could make this joke _once _and it would be funny...or not so funny... :(


	58. Chapter 57: Unsettled Findings

Chapter 57:  Unsettled Findings

            Big Blue held Pixie in his hands while he dashed under the shelter of Imperialdramon's wing.  "I was wondering when you would arrive," Big Blue yelled.  "The young Mr. Yamato told us that, besides himself, we were to wait for a blue creature with red wings and a cannon on its back.

            "That would be me," Imperialdramon answered.

            "He failed to mention containers of food, however," Big Blue added, eyeing the boxcars full of grain that Imperialdramon had tethered to himself.

            "Well, he didn't know about them at the time.  This is also a trade mission; we're trying to get a little variety in our diets back at the base."

            "I see…how, exactly, do you plan to get Pixie across the ocean?"

            "Like this," Imperialdramon answered as he beamed the two of them into the force field on his back.

            Blinking in surprise, Big Blue said, "This is another thing the young Mr. Yamato failed to mention…"

            "Where are we now, Big Blue?" Pixie asked.

            "I am not sure, milady…it appears we are…on the Imperialdramon's back…"

            "He's…got a roofed cabin on his back?"

            "Not exactly; this is a force field!" Davis explained.  "He can carry people around in here.  But one question…do you have any idea where Gary is?"

            "No, and I am not sure we wish to obtain such an idea."

            "Huh?"

            "The young Mr. Gary is self-centered, indifferent, and a poor ally."

            "Everyone says that about _me_," Davis shot back, "But they wouldn't leave me behind, would they?"

            Big Blue didn't know how to react to what Davis had just said.

            "That's Pixie that you're holding?" Davis asked.

            "Yes, and her recovery is hindered.  She may have an infection of some kind, or she may have lost too much blood.  I am not sure; I know very little about the sciences of medicine."

            "Don't worry; we'll get her to a doctor once we're back to base."

            "How long will that take?"

            "I dunno…a few hours, I hope."

            "You can cross your world's largest ocean within _hours_?"

            "Well…yeah…"

            "How…interesting…"

            "We'll be leaving once we've found Gary."

            "You aim to search him out?!!"

            "Yeah.  We need all the help we can get."

            "This is not a worthwhile move, I should advise you."

            "That's your opinion.  All right, away we go!  Search parties!" Davis shouted.

            Pixie groaned.  "Big Blue, I'm not sure I can make it that long…I know I'm a strong monster, but this---is…"

            "Milady?!"

            This grabbed Tina's attention.  She looked at Pixie's wounds and gasped.  "What happened to her?"

            "She fell into a pile of jagged rocks and hasn't been able to recover since.  She is probably infected and will not survive unless tended to soon."

            Tina gulped.  She knew only a little basic first aid, and the same could be said for everyone else on the trip.  But there was one idea she had…  "One thing that we do a lot in healing digimon is this:  we make them change forms.  The injuries that one of their forms get won't be passed on to the next form.  So if we could make her digivolve somehow…"

            "That is a thing that is unique to digimon; disc Monsters won't evolve that way."

            "Maybe not, but this is worth a try…"  Tina took the digi-egg of adventure out of her pocket and said, "I hope that this is the right one…"

            "**Pixie, module-evolve to…Mole Sprite!**"

            "Milady?!" Big Blue asked as he watched her get covered in yellow armor.

            "Whoa…what was that?" Mole Sprite asked, just gathering her senses.

            "That was something that Hare and Tiger learned how to do…along with the rest of the disc Monster crew.  These digi-eggs help us digivolve our digimon, although it's not the only way we can evolve.  But we found out that they work on disc monsters, too."

            Mole Sprite looked herself over.  "I feel like a whole new monster!  I can't explain it!"

            "Then your wounds are healed?" Big Blue asked.

            "Yes, they are…I just feel tired enough...to..." Mole Sprite couldn't finish the sentence before she fainted.  The digi-egg of adventure landed back in Tina's hands, and Mole Sprite regressed back to Pixie.  Fortunately, Pixie's injuries were gone.

            "Well…at least she'll recover."

            "But she has overexerted herself in this…module-evolution.  It will take a great deal of time for her to regain her strength.  But…as you say, she will survive." 

            Brock and Ash stepped out and let out Pidgeot, Noctowl, and Crobat.  June and Tina also stepped out of Imperialdramon's force field.  Tina switched hats, held up her digi-egg of adventure, and yelled, "**Digi-armor, energize!**"

            "**Youngdramon, armor digivolve to…Gryllotamon, the tunnel of adventure!**"  Gryllotamon made another transformation:  "**Gryllotamon, mode-change to…velocity mode!**"  Gryllotamon became a yellow, streamlined dragster.  Tina jumped in the cockpit, and June and Tibemon jumped in behind her.

            "I sure hope you have a roof, Gryllotamon!" June moaned.

            "Relax, I do," Gryllotamon answered as she sealed June and Tina in.  "You may want to fasten your seat belts; this form hauls!"  She suddenly peeled rubber and June's head fell into Tibemon's mouth.  That wasn't the best experience for either of them.

            "I wish you wouldn't do that," June and Tibemon said at the same time.

            "Save it for the battles," Gryllotamon answered.

            "I just wish the battles wouldn't start so quickly," Tina added, noting the slagsters just in front of them.  Tina squeezed the triggers on Gryllotamon's steering wheel and took a few pot-shots at them with Laser Mandible, but it wasn't long before it became apparent that they wouldn't be getting out of that one with Gryllotamon alone.  "Time for a detour!" Gryllotamon shouted as she turned around and they sped into an alleyway.

            "Gryllotamon, what _exactly_ was the plan in this?" June asked.

            "You'll find out in a minute.  Get out."  June let out a squeak of disapproval as she, Tina, and Tibemon stepped out into the cold rain.  "**Gryllotamon, mode-change to…insect mode!**"  Gryllotamon returned to her normal, bug-like form, and she began using her mandibles to dig into the ground.  When the slagsters looked into the alley, all they found was a hole…and they weren't smart enough to look into the hole to see if there was anyone inside.

            "That worked," Tina thought to herself, peeking out of the hole.

            Joey stuck his head out of Tina's overalls pocket.  "Joey no thinks that _urbo-ator-jorna_ worth _unuyon_!"

            June shivered.  Can we get back inside Gryllotamon and start looking again?"

            "In a minute," Tina answered, putting on her raincoat.  "We should wait until those slagsters---"

            "_Urbo-ator-jorna_," Joey corrected.

            "…Whatever…until they don't think we're here."

            June sighed and pushed her umbrella open.  "Here we are again…boy, I hate this weather!"

            Tina shrugged.  "I'm no big fan, but at least it's not roasting out.  I've told you about my metabolism and my weird blood, haven't I?"

            "Yeah, you did."

            "Let me tell you, I can't stand a day when it's too hot out."

            "I like it hot," June answered.  "I love a hot day on the beach---"

            "If the water is cool enough, I'll take a day like that…of course, I've never seen a big beach like the kind you have here in Japan.  Minnesota has a lot of lakes, but no ocean views…you think it's safe to get out of here, yet?" she asked.

            "I am _willing_ to risk it," June answered.  They climbed out of the hole and looked around.

            "Looks clear," Tibemon thought aloud.  It wasn't:  a humbug flew up and was just about to make its annoying, loud scream when---"Shark bite!" Tibemon spat a ring of energy at the humbug, and it fell to the ground without making a squeak.

            "So much for clear," Tina muttered.  She peeked around the corner of the alleyway.  She looked to the left and to the right…nothing.  She gave Gryllotamon a thumbs up.

            "**Gryllotamon, mode-change to…velocity mode!**"

            "Not so loud," June cautioned as she climbed in.  "When it comes to being attacked, once is enough for me."

            They sped away and continued searching the city, until they found the wreck of Gary's car.  Tina and June stepped out and looked the car over.  "Let's see…red and white convertible, thoroughly trashed, surrounded with dead saberstrikes, and covered with cooling lava…hmm… sounds like the description Ash gave us."

            "So…what do we do?" June asked.

            "We've been away for a while, and this is the first clue we've gotten.  I think we should tell Doofus about this."

            "Doofus…?"  June couldn't help but chuckle.  "That's good.  I think I'll call him that in the future."

            "And he can't complain; that's the beauty of it.  I called him that once, and he shouted, 'It's Doofus, not Davis!'"

            "You sure got him, there!"

            "I _did_!"

            "That was _sweet,_ let me tell you!" Gryllotamon said, beckoning her three passengers inside.  "You should've been there!"

            "I wish I _had_ been there.  So…where would you go if you were trying to stay alive and get out of the rain?"  A loud engine revving-noise interrupted June.  "Uh-oh!  Slagster!"  The four of them hid behind the wreck.  "Where's the noise coming from?"

            "Uh…over there," Tina pointed.  Sure enough:  in the distance, there was a slagster---and it was loudly revving its engine and circling something.

            "What's it think is so interesting over there?" Tibemon asked.

            "I don't know…but, personally, I value its opinion," Gryllotamon answered.

            "So…how do we get there without being seen?" June asked.

            "I have one idea," Gryllotamon answered.

******

            The two of them were packed like sardines, alone, terrified, and the only shelter they'd found was a phone booth.  It wasn't the best way to get out of the rain, but it was the closest at the time…and neither one of them had the gumption necessary to leave it and find a better place to take shelter in.  This was especially true after the slagster showed up.  The two were clutching each other tightly and screaming their lungs out for fear.  Their screams went up a half-octave as they saw a huge, yellow creature land on top of the slagster, pick it up, and drop it on the ground to smash it to pieces.  They saw another pair of girls jump off the yellow creature's back and walk towards the phone booth, and they kept screaming.  They achieved that other half-octave when one of the two girls opened the door.  (Didn't they feel proud to hit a super-high C sharp?)

            "Are you going to be forever in there?" the girl asked, hands on hips.

            The two cheerleaders stopped screaming.  "Yes!" they simultaneously shouted.

            The new pair of girls rolled their eyes and sighed.  "We're…looking for this guy called Gary.  Have you seen him?"

            "No!" "Never!" "Gary?  What kind of name is that?" "Never heard of the guy!"

            "Because…we were told that he travels with six cheerleaders, and he drives a white and red car.  We found that car a about a block over there."

            "Oh, what're you telling us for?" "That's not important to us!" "Be relevant!" "We don't want to get involved."

            "…Oh, well!  We have to keep looking, then."  Tina pulled a pair of blankets and a pair of rain ponchos out of her knapsack.  "We have to give them these, you see, and there's this guy called Ash who's hoping to meet Gary.  And I bet his cheerleaders are cold, wet, and _really_ scared, so they'll want these."

            There was a brief pause.  "Oh, _Gary_!  We thought you said Harry." "Yeah, we thought you said Harry." "We're his cheerleaders." "That's him." "That's his car."

            "So…do you know where Gary is?"

            The two cheerleaders looked at each other, than exploded into tears.  "Ga-a-a-a-ary-y-y-y!!!" "We don't know where he i-i-is!" "We can't find him, and we're all alone in this storm, and the car's go-o-o-o-one!"

            "Is it good or bad that we found these two?" Gryllotamon asked.

            "_GOOD!!!_" both cheerleaders screamed.

            "Wanna bet?" Tibemon asked.

AUTHOR'S NOTES:

            Wow…that was fun, tormenting those two cheerleaders!

            I guess you're wondering about that foreman.  Well, I want to create the stereotypical fat cat that lives off the backs of the working class.  You know, the kind of thing that would make it up to China for that rip on communism that I did in Endgame with those C.U.R.SE. groups.  I heard that it was the Internet that started the Tiananmen Square thing…maybe Endgame could end up being the next instigation against communism!  …Okay, I'll admit the chances for that are a million to one.  But let's think about that:  there are about 800 or 900 million people living in China, right?  I _think_ it was a little less than a billion.  But, anyway, one billion divided by a million is a thousand.  I have one thousand chances at restoring democracy and freedom to China.  …That's not a high enough number; I'm not satisfied.

            Anyhow…this is getting kinda…_long_, isn't it?  I mean, Endgame was almost done by chapter 57.  In fact, chapter 58 was the epilogue:  57 was the last one, the final battle, the big ker-blooey!  And here I am, still writing.  Let me tell you, if Endgame didn't snag the title of the biggest, longest, most drawn-out fanfiction in existence _ever_, MON: 2028 will.  I can guarantee that:  I bet there isn't one other author that has composed a new language and an entirely new breed of creature, just for his fanfiction!  …Actually, there are a lot of people out on the Internet, so…maybe someone _has_.  I'm jumping too conclusions.

            But yes, I _did_ make a new language so that I could describe the menace machine's special attacks.  You've probably noticed the patterns in their attack names, and I'll have to publish a guide to the Linonian language, sometime.


	59. Chapter 58: Four Down, Three to Go

Chapter 58:  Four Down, Three To Go…

            "So…what, do these girls have a hive mind, or something?  Collective consciousness?" Davis asked.  "Their expressions are the same, and they're both sniffling at _exactly_ the same time!"

            "Must be _something_ like that," Ash answered.  "They were always singing for Gary in perfect unison, and it seemed like they could make up chants for him on the spot."

            "Well, it's too bad they don't know where he is," Brock mused, calling Crobat back into his pokéball.  Ash called back his Pidgeot and Noctowl, and they looked at Davis.  "So…what's the plan, now?"

            "Move to the wreck of the car and try another search party," Davis answered.

            Imperialdramon asked as he beamed them into his force field, "Were exactly is this wreck?"

            "I think it was eight blocks west and four blocks north of here," Tina answered.

            "Here we go, then…"  Imperialdramon landed over the car's wreck and let Ash, Brock, and Davis out again.  "But…our flying pokémon and Gryllotamon are pretty worn out…how are we supposed to look for them?"

            "On foot," Davis answered.

            "I was afraid of that," Ash muttered, looking out at the pouring rain.

            "Hey, they can't have gone far.  I mean, those two told us that it started raining a few seconds after they were separated.  If those girls all think the same way like I think they do, then the others will have found shelter fast and stayed there."

            "…Okay."  Ash pulled up his hood and looked around outside.  "Let's see…I'm a cheerleader, running from menace machines that have just wrecked Gary's car…which way do I go…?"

            "Hey, Ash.  Here's another clue," Brock said, pointing out the smoldering wreckage of a few menace machines.

            "Huh?  You mean… the machines had to have been coming from over there?"

            "Right, so the girls would've run the other way!"

            "Hey, I see what you're saying!  Let's go."

            They tried to be quiet, but that's tricky when a humbug sees you and makes its alert noise.

            "Totodile, shoot that thing down!" Ash yelled.  Totodile jumped out of Ash's pokéball and spat water at the humbug.  It went down.  "So…now what?"

            "I think _we_ should go into hiding for the next few minutes, Ash!" Brock answered.  "We don't want to end up in a battle, ourselves!"

            "Right!"  The two of them ducked into a convenience store.  "Now, where are we _least_ likely to be seen…?  How about behind the counter?"

            "NO!  _Not_ behind the counter!"

            "Well, okay, but if you…wait a sec," Ash thought aloud.  "Did you just say that, Brock?"

            "Uh, no…I thought you did.  It sounded like it came from…" Brock looked over the counter, and there were huddled a pair of wet, terrified cheerleaders.  The two girls screamed out loud when they saw Brock look at them.

            "Having your usual charming effect, Brock?" Ash asked.  Brock was too high on hormones to understand what Ash had just said.  "Hey, don't you recognize us?"

            Both girls immediately stopped and looked.  "ASH!" "BROCK!"  They jumped out from behind the counter and wrapped their arms around the two trainers.

            Brock's entire face was flush, and the cheerleader who hugged him had difficulty escaping the hug.

            "Brock, drop her." Ash demanded.  Brock's arms came loose and she fell to the floor.  "One question:  do you know where Gary or the others are?"

            Again, both girls burst into tears.  Ash looked at Brock with an unsure expression:  he didn't know how Brock would respond to this.  Ash asked again, "Do you have _any_ idea where?"

            "Ga-a-a-a-ary-y-y-y!!!" "We don't know where he i-i-is!" "We can't find him, and we're all alone in this storm, and the car's go-o-o-o-one!"

            Ash sighed.  He fished a pair of blankets out of his knapsack and tossed them to the two cheerleaders.  "Is either one of you hurt?  ---_physically_ hurt?"

            "No." "No."

            "Good.  Then you can make it to Imperialdramon."

            "To…_what_?"

            "You'll see."  Knowing Brock was still chemically comatose, Ash unzipped his friend's backpack and pulled out a poncho for each girl.  "C'mon."

            Both girls were a little unsure about leaving the relatively comfortable store, but they followed Ash and Brock back to Imperialdramon.  When they first saw him and realized he was alive, they hugged each other so tightly that could've vacuum-sealed each other.  "It's okay," Ash reassured them.  "He doesn't bite.  Come on."  Ash led them to the other two that Tina and June had found.  Those two---along with June and Tina---were warming up from their previous hike through the rain, sipping hot cocoa.

            Tina looked at the two new cheerleaders.  "Man!  At this rate, we'll have a full set before you can say 'antidisestablishmentarianism'."

            "There are a lot of things that could happen before you could say that," Ash answered.  "At least we didn't have to fight our way through to them."

            As a clutch of saberstrikes ran towards Imperialdramon, Tina muttered, "You _had_ to say that, didn't you?"

            "Blastoise, Heracross, Totodile!  Go!" 

            "Forretress, go!"

            "Blastoise, use Bubblebeam!  Totodile, scary face!  Heracross, Mega Horn!"

            "Forretress, Spikes attack!"

            The saberstrikes mostly ignored Ash's and Brock's pokémon (a big mistake) and began shooting Imperialdramon with their sonic attacks, although the attacks weren't doing much damage.  Ash and Brock's pokémon were wasting on the saberstrikes, though.

            Imperialdramon had felt enough sonic attacks vibrate through his body; he shot back.  "Patriot Marauder!" he shouted, and he spat a barrage of cluster missiles out at the saberstrikes.  There wasn't one left standing.

            "Whoa!  If only pokémon could do that!" Ash thought aloud.

            "That would make battles pretty interesting," Brock agreed.

            "So…what do we do _now_?" Ash asked.

            "I guess we go back to looking for Gary and the other girls."

            "If you say so." Ash turned to the cheerleaders they had already found.  "Um…do you know what direction the other two went in?"

            "That way," all four answered at once, pointing down the street.

            "Away we go, then," Ash thought aloud.  "Great work, Blastoise.  You, too, Heracross and Totodile.  Return."

            "Forretress, return."

            Ash and Brock again walked away, hoping that they weren't about to face something even worse than the saberstrikes they'd just trashed…

******

            "…And then there was the strike of 2014.  You weren't born yet, but that was the worst strike these eyes have ever seen.  Let me tell you, the price of fruit went soaring because demand was so high, and supply was so low!  I was half-ready to go out there and pick myself, but I didn't want to get muck all over my new suit.  Anyhow, I was surprised that they'd have any kind of labor union at all, considering that they're migrant workers.  But somehow, they managed to get a union, and that almost killed our business!  Why, I didn't get a bonus for _two years_!  I had just started building that pool over there, and I didn't have enough money to finish it, so all that was there was this dirty hole in the ground with a few pre-laid pipes.  That was ugly, and I had to move the family reunion away from the house to keep it out of the folks' sight!  But, then, of course, there were a pair of young boys---I don't know whether it was nephews or second cousins, or whatever---but they got curious and decided to explore the ol' yard.  They found that hole, and got their best Sunday clothes covered with dirt!  I never heard the end of it from their father.  Their mother would've gotten her two cents in if the father hadn't invested his entire life savings in that one pow-wow!  All for a strike, and the behavior of a couple of boys.  See, your parents should be glad you're a girl.  All they need to do to keep your red head out of trouble is to tell you not to do something, and you won't try it.  Not so with boys:  they need to learn their lessons the hard way.  Come to think of it, I should start employing women to work my fields, instead of men!  Women wouldn't cuss at me:  women can and will take anything you give 'em.  You mark my words; you'll grow up to be a better person than your husband, whoever he turns out to be.  And if you _do_ marry, make sure you get him kicked out of his labor union!  Returning to the strike of 2014, I always knew that they wouldn't be able to last forever.  'Course, neither could _I_.  But I made it, and the union finally caved.  I had half a mind to give them a pay cut, but I wasn't that brave.  I mean, there's no way they would've been able to say no to that; their union was so weak, I could've killed it with a grain of salt.  But I didn't have that kind of gumption to…"

            Rika thought to herself, _You **don't** want to know what **I** have the gumption to do, right now…!_

AUTHOR'S NOTES:

I admit it: there are probably no migrant workers in Hawaii; that's more of a mainland thing. I mean, there aren't that many places for a big population of workers to migrate to on an archipelago... But that's the punch line. This is sooooo ridiculous. Rika would have said so if she weren't half brain-dead with grouchiness.

And about the foreman's hairstyle? That was just a wide-brimmed straw hat, in case you were wondering. I don't expect that Tai-like hairstyles will be "in" amongst Hawaiian foremen, even in the year 2028.

...Boy, he's really torturing Rika, isn't he? I've got to put a stop to this before she attacks somebody...


	60. Chapter 59: Full Set

Chapter 59:  Full Set

            "Now…if I were those two other cheerleaders, where would I hide?" Ash wondered to himself.

            "Uh, Ash?  I think it's starting to clear up," Brock said, pointing to the sky.

            "You say that like it's a bad thing."

            "It means we're running out of time.  The cheerleaders were hiding because they wanted to take shelter from the rain.  If there's no rain, there's no reason to stay in hiding."

            "Unless there happens to be a menace machine around…"  Ash scratched his head.  "Boy, I wish I'd taken Pikachu along.  Maybe his nose would've been able to pick them out."

            "I doubt it.  The rain would wash the scent away."

            "Hmm…but where do you think they would hide?"

            "If I were desperate, scared, and trying to get indoors…I'd go to…a police station!" Brock answered, pointing at a nearby police office.

            "It's worth a try," Ash answered.  They knocked at the door, and the door fell off its hinges.  "You think we'll find Officer Jenny?"

            "I wish."

            "Well, knowing her---or _them_, considering the number of Jennies---we'd never hear the end of it for that door."

            "Hello?!" Brock yelled into the office.  There was no answer.

            "Do we go in?" Ash asked.

            "Might as well."

            Ash let out Charizard.  As long as they were inside the police station, the rainwater wouldn't threaten his tail flame, and his flame would help light the way.  "Hello?" Ash yelled again.  "Anybody in here?"  Ash walked a little ways into the station.  He thought he heard the noise of a few girls shouting.  "Hello?  Where are you?"

            The shouting got a little more desperate and louder.  Ash and Brock ran to the source of the shouts, and they found that…_somehow_…the cheerleaders had gotten themselves locked into one of the jail cells.

            "Awh!  How'd you get in _there_?!" Ash asked.

            "We came in here to use the bathroom, and the door shut by itself!" the girls answered at the same time.

             "Aren't there better places to use the bathroom?"

            "The _normal_ bathroom was locked!"

            Ash rolled his eyes.  "Any idea where Gary is?"

            "No, but I know that _we're_ not going anywhere!"

            "Do you know where the keys are?"

            "**_On that table!!!_**" both girls answered.

            "Yikes!  I wouldn't be able to stand the thought of knowing that the way out was that close," Ash thought aloud as he began trying keys on the cell's door.  "I sure hope that---" a loud click interrupted Ash as the door came open.  "There we go!"

            The girls thought Ash and Brock were their heroes, and gave them the stereotypical "hero hugs", the same way the previous pair had done.  Again, it was a big mistake for the cheerleader who had decided to hug Brock.

            "Brock, drop her!  …So, now all that's left is to find Gary."

            "Yeeeaaahhhhh…"

            "C'mon, let's get these two back to Imperialdramon," Ash said.

            "Yeeeaaahhhhh…"

            "…_Brock!_  Now is not the time!  Come _on_!"  Ash tugged on Brock's arm.  "We need to move it and hope that Gary won't go anywhere!"__

            "Yeeeaaahhhhh…"

            Ash rolled his eyes.  They left the police station, and it had stopped raining.  Everything was dripping wet, but the sun was shining.  They began moving quickly for Imperialdramon, but, when they arrived, they didn't like what they saw:  Imperialdramon and several Queuebes were slugging it out.  "Ooooh…why does this kind of stuff have to happen?!  Snorlax, Kingler, Haunter!  I choose you!  …_Brock!  _Let out Steelix and Graveler, already!"

            "Yeeeaaahhhhh…" Brock answered, letting out his two pokémon.

            Ash sighed and looked back at the battle.  "Snorlax, use Hyper Beam attack!"  Snorlax fired at one of the queuebes, but the shot only got absorbed into one of its solar panels.  "Okay, that didn't work…Haunter, use Night shade!"  Haunter threw a black beam of energy at the queuebe, but that didn't do any damage, either.

            Still in his hormonal stupor, Brock commanded, "Steelix, use tackle attack!"  Steelix jumped into the air and smacked a queuebe, but that didn't do much damage, either.  "Graveler, rock throw!"  Again, the stones Graveler hurled up at the queuebe didn't even dent the solar panels.

            Ash started to fret.  He knew that Imperialdramon needed his strength, so he wouldn't be able to fight much longer… "There's _gotta_ be a way…I know!  Totodile, I choose you!"

            "Totodile?" the cheerleaders asked.

            "Yeeeaaahhhhh…" Brock pointed out.

            "You'll see what I'm doing…Totodile, rain dance!"  As Totodile began his strange jig, the sky clouded over again, and it started raining.  Since the sun was blocked, the queuebes lost their power source and returned to their dormant state.

            Ash and Brock called back their pokémon and hurried the cheerleaders under Imperialdramon's wings and into his force field.

            Shocked, Davis asked, "Your pokémon can control the weather?"

            "Not for very long," Ash answered.  "We need to get out of here before the sun comes back."

            June shuddered as she looked at the downpour outside.  "I can't believe we're _avoiding_ the sun!  Is there _anything_ these enemies of ours have left us with to enjoy?!"

            "Doubt it," Davis answered.  "Considering what they're doing to people…"

            "Let's not get into that," Tina cautioned.  "We all know that they're killing people---"

            "We don't have time to chitchat!  We need to get out of here!" Ash cut in.  "Those queuebes aren't going to keep away forever!"

            "Where _would_ we go?" Imperialdramon asked.

            "I'm not sure, either, but, knowing Gary, he wouldn't let this get him down; he'd try to find someplace where---"

            Loud, feminine screaming in the distance cut Ash off.

            "Who's that?" Davis asked.

            "I dunno, but it looks like our pokémon are about to get more of a workout!  Blastoise, Bulbasaur, I choose you!"

            "Vulpix, go!" Brock shouted.  Their pokémon stood ready, and, to Ash's surprise, _Gary_ was the one who was doing the screaming.

            "Wha---?" Ash mouthed as he looked at Gary running from a horde of droll bits.

            "Vulpix, use Fire Spin!"

            "Blastoise, use Hydro Pump!  Bulbasaur, Razor Leaf!"  The pokémon threw their attacks into the field of weak menace machines and the machines fell.

            Knowing his pursuers were gone, Gary paused, bent over, and caught his breath.  But, when he looked up, Gary stared in panicked amazement at Imperialdramon.  Then he heard a "♪♫No one can get Gary down, best survivor in this town!  WOOO-HOOOOO!! ♫" and then Gary snapped out of his panic and sneered.  "You think you can scare me?!" he spat.  "Nidoking, Fearow!  Go!"  A pair of exhausted pokémon jumped out of their pokéballs, looked at Imperialdramon, and then retreated back into their pokéballs.  "Hey!!!  You can't just---"

            "Why _exactly_ are you afraid of me?" Imperialdramon asked.

            "Afraid?  Aw, **_psh__!_**  I'm not afraid of you!"

            "…Uh-huh…  And there's a good reason for you not being afraid:  I wasn't planning to fight you."  Imperialdramon turned his back on Gary and let Ash and Brock out.

            "Ash??  What are _you_ doing here?"

            "Trying to get you, that's what!"

            "Is that big dragon-thingy…_your_ pokémon?!"

            "He's not even a pokémon, Gary!  But we've been looking for you for the past few hours, and we don't know how long we're keeping other people waiting.  Get in."

            "_In_?!?!"

            "Come on!  …Unless you're _enjoying_ the rain."

******

            Rika had half a mind to go out into the muck and help the saberstrikes harvest bananas.  Even with rain and muck involved, it was better than the alternative, which was to let a half-drunk foreman talk her ears off.  The alcohol and cigarettes weren't doing much for his breath, either.  So there Rika was, sitting in the middle of a cloud of smoke, with a black cloud hanging over her head.  At long last, the foreman fell asleep.  _Finally, _Rika thought to herself.  She scurried into the house and shut the sliding glass door behind her.

            Renamon was still curled up around the fire, along with Tiger and Hare.  All three were still drying out.  When Rika came towards them, she heard Renamon let out a snort.  But this was more of a get-the-smell-out-of-your-nose snort than it was a snort of disgust.  "Rika, you smell like poisoned smoke."

            "No, _really_?!"

            "She's right," Hare added.  "What happened out there?"

            "Just a little thing called 'second-hand smoke'."

            "How can you stand that?"

            "I can't," Rika hissed back.  She sat down next to the fire, herself.  "So…when's Imperialdramon going to be back, anyway?  I'm sick of waiting---"  Rika stopped talking as she saw Imperialdramon land.  Ken walked out onto the patio and changed the saberstrikes' instructions.  They began loading piles of bananas into one of Imperialdramon's two cargo containers.  "**_Finally!_**" Rika sighed.  She walked under the shelter of Imperialdramon's wings.  "What _took_ you guys?!"

            "We got hung up trying to find Gary and the cheerleaders," Tina answered.  "But all's well that ends well.  Here we are.  How long were we?"

            "Roughlty eternity," Rika answered.  "At least, that's what it felt like.  Are my ears still attached to my head?  I'm scared that he might've talked them off," Rika spat, throwing a disgusted glance at the sleeping foreman.

            "Your ears are still there.  But, judging from the fact that he's still wearing the same clothes as before, we were gone only a few hours?"

            "Probably."

            "Good to know," Davis thought aloud.  "So…what's the price for the bananas, would you guess?" Davis asked.

            "I don't think he'll be in any condition to make business decisions," Rika answered.  "He's been smoking and drinking this entire time."

            "Yikes!" Tina exclaimed.  "You sure smell like you need a shower."

            "I _feel_ like I need one!"

            "Well, we don't have time to sit around here and wait for him to come to," Davis decided.  "Ken, have the saberstrikes leave about half the bananas they picked.  That labor will have to be the price.  There's no time to lose.  For all we know, one minute here could be more like a year to the people back in Japan."

            "There's a scary thought," Tina agreed.

            Unfortunately, it was a great deal more than a scary thought:  when Imperialdramon arrived back at the nuke plant where they had left, they found that the power plant was _gone_…

AUTHOR'S NOTES:

Didn't see that one coming, _did_ ya?

Don't worry...Protocol Omega is coming up, and there's going to be even more action, suspense, and plot in it than there was in Operation: Salvage Earth. There are stranger transformations, more power, and I finally use the Omegamon and Imperialdramon Paladin Mode GIFs! Also, I get around to showing you the digi-clones DNA-digivolved forms. If you liked Operation: Salvage Earth, you'll love Protocol Omega.

Here are a few previews:

******

A bead of sweat trickled down the back of Hare's neck. "Uh…what's with the vest? And why the baskets?"

"Oh, the vest is only secondary," Natasha answered.

"And, uh, why would we be heading for the _ cemetery_?"

"It's the best place we could find," Youngdramon said around the basket she held in her mouth.

"The best place for _what_?!"

"Hiding the eggs in the baskets."

"But what's the point of that?" Hare sniffed the eggs. "These aren't even real eggs! They smell like poison!"

"They probably would be poisonous to you, but not to humans."

"But…but…I'm not understanding one thing about this. Could you explain what the point of hiding poisoned eggs around in a cemetery is?"

"So kids can have fun finding them."

"…Oh. Well, that explains everything, doesn't it?"

"It's an old Christian tradition that we have. It's done every Easter."

"Easter? That sounds more like a direction than a religious holiday."

"Well, it is a holiday."

"And what're the eggs for? How do they tie in to the religious part?"

"Actually, they don't. I don't know how the tradition got started, but kids will bend over backwards for candy eggs."

******

"No! Bad!"

"Tina?" Ingrid begged, referring to Tina's merciful nature.

"_Bad!_"

Ingrid sighed. She wasn't getting out of this one. She'd eaten off from someone else's plate, and food was scarce at the time. So she had earned disapproval. Disapproval was always enough to make Ingrid want to stop doing whatever she'd been doing that was bad. But disapproval wasn't enough of a punishment to Yolei; there had to be corporal punishment. (It was all that had ever worked on Tina.) So Yolei brought out her trusty riding crop and gave Ingrid a few smacks. Ingrid screamed her lungs out, which was the worst thing she could have done: before long, there was a group of luftwaffles attacking their building.

"Uh-oh!" Kari thought aloud. "Maybe spanking her wasn't such a great idea, Yolei."

"I'm beginning to see that," Yolei answered. She pulled out the digi-egg of sincerity. "**Digi-armor, energize!**"

"**Hawkmon, armor digivolve to…Shurimon, the samurai of sincerity!**" Shurimon began reflecting laser blasts away from them away. "Double star!" she shouted, firing a few blades at the luftwaffles. Unfortunately, the luftwaffles were agile, and she only took one out after shooting out nine blades. "This isn't going well, Yolei," Shurimon shouted. "We're going to need some help to take these out!"

"Gatomon is still too weak to fight, and Moochi's beam attacks won't help us against those things!" Kari answered.

"Then there's only one thing left," Yolei thought aloud. She pulled a small brown object out of her pocket and threw it at Shurimon.

"**Shurimon, radio-digivolve to…Pepomon, the noble samurai of sincerity!**" Pepomon looked like Shurimon, but she was more obese, with a pumpkin for a belly, and her vines were longer, with bigger blades at the ends of them. Pepomon flew out of the building and slashed at the luftwaffles. They were down before long...

******

(NOTE: Christian content)

Angewomon was having troubles of her own. She aimed her crossbow at Wiccamon, and that forced her to get a good, hard look at Wiccamon---a thing she had never done, nor wanted to do: Wiccamon was unchastely dressed, and its skin looked like it was made out of black plastic. Everything about Wiccamon seemed unnatural and evil---not to mention ugly. Angewomon's nose wrinkled back as she realized that this vulgar excuse for an SI life form had somehow been derived from her own DNA. The first words that came out of her mouth were, "You look like a giant happy meal toy!"

Wiccamon had a cutting response: "Demon Amulet!" A green skull of energy shot out of its pyramid-shaped, crystal brooch.

Angewomon smacked the skull with the butt of her crossbow and shattered it. "Celestial Arrow!"

Wiccamon dodged under the white shot and charged Angewomon. "Say good night, angel-food-cake! Wicked Claw!"

Angewomon folded her wings and dropped to the ground, just as Wiccamon flew over.

Angewomon suddenly remembered what she had thought at the Easter Pageant: how Wiccamon was what she had once been: working for evil. "You don't have to be doing this, you know," Angewomon said.

"That's true: you could make it easier on yourself and surrender! Then I wouldn't have to fight you!"

"That's not what I meant!" Angewomon said, firing off another arrow. "I mean fighting for evil!"

"What _about_ fighting for evil?" Wiccamon spat.

"It's not what you were meant for!"

"Who says?!" Wiccamon asked, canceling Angewomon's arrow with another skull of energy. "The Linonian scientists made me for this very purpose!"

"There's a Creator beyond them," Angewomon shouted back.

"Who's that? Your stupid God?"

"Yes, my God: Jesus Christ!"

"Ha! If you think I care at all about what He thinks, you're dead wrong! Demon Amulet!"

Angewomon leapt into the air and dodged away from the attack. "He cares about you!"

"I don't care!"

"You don't have to do this! You can choose to turn back!"

"I choose evil! Wicked Claw!" Angewomon felt one of Wiccamon's fingers cut her arm and leave her robe in tatters.

She clutched her wounded arm to stop the bleeding.

"See? I can win this fight," Wiccamon taunted...

******

...So, I hope you've found these entertaining and enthralling...the best is yet to come!

One last question...I could change Wiccamon's name to "Wickemon" without changing general gist of her character or the pronunciation, and, therefore, without changing the alien-language spelling of her name...should I do that?


End file.
